Magic rock crystal

25 November 2022 - 19 March 2023

Precious stones have fascinated people since time immemorial. The Museum Schnütgen is now dedicating an exhibition to the water-clear rock crystal with around 130 objects from international collections.
The exhibition is based on the high-quality rock crystal objects in the museum's own collection and the hitherto unique discovery of a 12th-century rock crystal cutting workshop near Cologne Cathedral.

Kasten in Form einer Hand mit einer Dose aus Bergkristall, teilweise in Gold gefasst

Rock crystal ball set in gold — Finial of a reliquary, Cologne, around 1180/1190,
Museum Schnütgen, Inv. G 570, photo: Rheinisches Bildarchiv Cologne / Marion Mennicken

Manifestation of power and beauty

The Roman scholar Pliny the Elder considered the pleasantly cool, colourless rock crystal to be petrified ice that will never melt. Even in ancient times, people believed in the healing powers and magical properties of the crystal. In the Middle Ages, the precious mineral played an important role in the context of Christian faith - it was interpreted as a manifestation of the divine. But it was also in demand at the courtly table and, of course, for fortune-telling.

It is above all its transparency and translucency that give rock crystal its great attraction. Even uncut, it offers an imposing appearance with its sparkling, six-sided cones. When processed, the material becomes even more luxurious - the sacred and profane exhibits made of and with rock crystal bear witness to this and stand for themselves in their uniqueness and preciousness.

Rock crystal is a hard but fragile material that requires great skill to work. It cannot be carved or worked with hammer and chisel, but it can be shaped and decorated using various cutting techniques.

On display are exquisite rock crystal containers that were used, among other things, as reliquaries and as royal ceremonial vessels. But also optical lenses, cooling balls and even a chess stone made of rock crystal await the visitors. In addition, hundreds of individual parts of the Cologne rock crystal workshop found in 2005 will be on display. Furthermore, panel paintings, sculptures and manuscripts bear witness to the importance and use of the transparent "gemstone".

View of the exhibition

Cylindrical vessel made of rock crystal, set in gold, on lion feet — Rock crystal reliquary, Cologne, around 1200, Museum Schnütgen, Inv. G 17, photo: Stephan Kube, Greven

Vessel made of cut rock crystal with a gold-coloured base. — Rock crystal vial with cut relief decoration, Abbasid, 9th–10th century. Rock crystal, cut, polished, copper, gilded, height: 10.5 cm, width: 5.1 cm, Museum Schnütgen, Inv. G 19, photo: Stephan Kube, Greven

Cross on black base with rock crystal decorations — Rock crystal cross, Rhineland (Cologne?), early 14th century, Museum Schnütgen, photo: Stephan Kube, Greven

Stone with rock crystal — Rock crystal specimen from the GeoMuseum at the University of Cologne, photo: Stephan Kube, Greven

Box in the shape of a hand with a rock crystal box, partially set in gold — Arm reliquary (detail), Hildesheim (?), second half of the 12th century, Museum Schnütgen Photo: Stephan Kube, Greven

Chess piece made of rock crystal — Chess piece (knight) from the so-called Charlemagne chess set, Abbasid or Spanish, 10th/11th century, Museum Schnütgen Photo: Rheinisches Bildarchiv / Marion Mennicken

Forged miniature golden carriage set with precious stones — Relic carriage, around 1200, Orléans, Sainte-Croix Cathedral Photo: Rheinisches Bildarchiv

Animal head made of rock crystal with a muzzle crafted from fine goldsmith work and precious stones — Martens Head, Milan, setting: France (?), c. 1560/70, Thyssen-Bornemisza Collections Photo: Thyssen-Bornemisza Collections

Pendant with a rock crystal hand in the shape of a clenched fist — Amulet in the shape of a Mano figa, Germany, around 1500, Berlin, Museum of Decorative Arts © Museum of Decorative Arts, Berlin State Museums, photo: Stephan Büchner

Ball made of polished rock crystal with case — Rock crystal cooling ball with accompanying case, Germany, around 1500, Berlin, Museum of Decorative Arts © Museum of Decorative Arts, Berlin State Museums, photo: Stephan Büchner

Statue of Mary and Jesus seated on a throne, each with a rock crystal on their chest — Our Lady with the Rock Crystal, Cologne, around 1220/1230 and early 14th century (mounting), Museum Schnütgen Photo: Rheinisches Bildarchiv / Marion Mennicken

Detail of a wooden statue of Mary with a rock crystal

Various cut and uncut rock crystals and tools for processing them are displayed on different bases made of stone, clay and bread. — Medieval rock crystal workshop in Cologne (archaeological finds), Cologne, Romano-Germanic Museum Photo: Romano-Germanic Museum / Axel Thünker DGPh

Rock crystal ring depicting a soldier with a raised sword and a statue under his arm — Rock crystal ring depicting the theft of the Palladium, from a Roman tomb in Cologne after 270 AD, Cologne, Romano-Germanic Museum Photo: Stephan Kube, Greven

Goldenes Kästchen in Form eines Hauses auf einem Sockel mit geschliffenen Bergkristallen an den Seiten — Reliquiar der Hl. Barbara, Köln, um 1300, Köln, St. Ursula Foto: Stephan Kube, Greven

Tasse aus Bergkristall mit Henkeln an beiden Seiten — Zweihenkelige Bergkristalltasse, römisch, 1. Jh., Köln, Römisch-Germanisches Museum Foto: Stephan Kube, Greven

Gürtel aus rotem Stoff mit Goldfäden durchwirkt und mit Münzen besetzt. Daran hängen drei Gliederketten mit geschitzten schwarzen Perlen und einem Totenschädel aus Bergkristall. — Magischer Gürtel, Spanien, 17. Jh., (Stoff, Münzen, Medaillen, Rosenkranzglieder, Bergkristallschädel), Museum Schnütgen Foto: Stephan Kube, Greven

Metallgliederkette mit schwarzen gravierten Perlen und einem Totenschädel aus Bergkristal an einem Ende — Magischer Gürtel (Detail mit Bergkristallschädel), Spanien, 17. Jh., Museum Schnütgen Foto: Stephan Kube, Greven

Aufwendig gearbeitetes Altarkreuz mit Jesusfigur aus Edelmetall, mit Bergkristall im Kreuz und im Sockel

The book

The book accompanying the exhibition costs 44 € at the museum (hardcover, 432 pages, 385 illustrations, ed. by Manuela Beer, Hirmer Verlag Munich 2022).

For the first time, works made of rock crystal from antiquity to the end of the Middle Ages are presented here in a comprehensive manner. The spectrum ranges from vessels for sacred and profane objects to crosses, chess sets, amulets, cooling balls, official signs and magnifying glasses. The facets of rock crystal as a material, its processing, use and symbolic interpretation are not only examined from an art-historical perspective, but also from the perspectives of mineralogy, archaeology, geology, philology and optics.