Lisbjerg Golden Altar
Type:
Altars,
Altarpieces
Date:
1135
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Denmark
Medium:
Copper,
Gilt-bronze,
Gold,
Wood
Dimensions:
158 × 101 cm
Description:
By about 1135, the stone church at Lisbjerg housed a gilded altar, the earliest of eleven such Scandinavian works. The lower frontal is surmounted by an upper arched retable or reredos. Most of the imagery is gilded copper repoussé, but the reused eleventh-century Christ on the cross is of oak, and the central figure of Mary inside the city of Jerusalem (on the frontal) is of cast bronze. The earthly Jerusalem—in Christian hands in 1135—was a metaphor for the Church and the Heavenly Jerusalem described in the book of Revelation.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
7
Repository and Online Resources:
• Zoom in on the Golden Altar here.
• See more photos of the Golden Altar here.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons; Nationalmuseet, Copenhagen
