About
Gothic reliquaries from Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral meet hidden medieval Jewish hoards in 160-plus objects, on view at the Jewish Museum.
Charles IV turned Prague's St. Vitus Cathedral into a Gothic marvel stocked with elaborate reliquaries, and the largest group of them ever to leave Europe now sits beside silver, coins and jewelry that Jewish families buried during the Black Death persecutions. The pairing tells six centuries of shared craft and fractured coexistence in one city. If medieval gold and real historical drama are your thing, this is the Museum Mile show to see this fall.
What to expect
The show runs chronologically and thematically, from Gothic architecture shared by the Altneuschul Synagogue and the Convent of St. Agnes to 16th- and 17th-century Torah ornaments, manuscripts and Hebrew printing. A Christian prayer book and a Hebrew Bible from the same Bohemian illuminator's workshop are shown together for the first time, and Edmund de Waal's installation tehillim [Psalms] responds to the hoards.
Good to know
- The show draws steady interest from art-history fans, so arriving at opening makes for calmer galleries
- Two related contemporary installations by Hannah Altman and Afruz Amighi are on the museum's third floor
- Nearest subway is the 4/5/6 at 96th Street or 86th Street, then walk to Fifth Avenue
- Easy to pair with Cooper Hewitt and the Guggenheim a few blocks away on Museum Mile
- Objects are small and detailed, so plan time to look closely
Common questions
How many objects are in Sacred Splendor?
More than 160, according to the Jewish Museum.
Why pair Christian reliquaries with Jewish ritual art?
The show explores how Jews and Christians in Prague shared artisans and a built environment while developing distinct ritual traditions, and how that relationship frayed during the plague years.