Chest of Saint Simeon

The Silver Chest of Saint Simeon

Original Chest in the Church of St.Simeon in Zadar
Under protection of UNESCO
Description
Author:	Francesco di Antonio da Sesto
Date:	1377-1380
Place:	Zadar, Dalmatia
Technics:	Repoussé Silverwork & Gilding
Material:	Cedarwood
Dimensions:	1.92×0.625×1.27 metres (6.30×2.05×4.17 ft)
Location:	Trg Šime Budinića, Zadar
Open for public viewing every year on 8 Oct.

The Chest of Saint Simeon or Saint Simeon's Casket (Croatian: Srebrna raka sv. Šime or Škrinja sv. Šimuna) is a rectangular cedarwood sarcophagus in the shape of a chasse, overlaid with silver and silver-gilt plaques, said to hold the relics of St Simon the God-receiver; it is located over the main altar in the Church of Saint Simeon in Zadar, Croatia. The chest, considered a masterpiece of medieval art and also a unique monument of the goldsmith's craft of the age, is one of the most interesting works in gold in Europe now under the protection of UNESCO. It was made by local goldsmiths to an Italian design between 1377 and 1380.

The cult of St. Simeon, the story of how the queen stole the finger of today Zadar's patron saint, or gonfaloniero as the locals call it, and the donation of a magnificent shrine to atone for the stealing of the saint's finger surely illustrates not only the political aspect orchestrated by the Angevins amid the people's belief in the authenticity of Zadar's body over the one kept in Venice, but also the high level of development and quality in goldsmithing during the second half of that fourteenth century feudal society.

The top of the chest containing the mummified body of the silver-crowned bearded saint enclosed behind a sheet of transparent glass is elevated above the main altar and displayed to the public, as well as its interior full of precious gifts given by Elizabeth of Bosnia, every year on 8 October, at 8:30 a.m.

Eastern Roman emperors who were seated in Constantinople in the sixth century were not only expanding their collection of valuable works of art, but also relics of saints in order to be able to stand side by side with Rome's. So, between 565 and 568 AD the sarcophagus where the remains of St. Simeon were being kept was moved from Syria to Constantinople, where it stayed until the year 1203 when it was then shipped to Venice.