New Research Illuminates Byzantine Artistic HeritageContact:
Chris Gosier A prominent scholar of medieval art spoke at
Fordham on Oct. 17 about new research that is shedding light on
the full artistic splendor of the Byzantine Empire. Hundreds of
relic containers all over France can give a more complete view
of the Byzantine artistic heritage if they are systematically
inventoried, said Jannic Durand, curator of objets d’art at the
Musée du Louvre in Paris. He spoke of various relic containers,
or reliquaries, that held the body parts of saints or objects
associated with saints. Some of the reliquaries are missing, and
must be reconstructed through drawings or descriptions hidden in
obscure archives. Some are likely waiting to be discovered or
identified, he said. Sometimes, relics or reliquaries that were
destroyed long ago can be re-envisioned through engravings,
inventories, images and scholarly writings, he added. In this
way, "we can sometimes arrive at a relatively clear vision of
the objects which made