#christian martyrs

From Heavenly Bodies~ Jeweled Sacred Skeletons of the 16th Century. Part of the Lecture Series at The Last Tuesday Society.  

“Dr. Paul Koudounaris (author of the goth cult classic Empire of Death, the first study of bone-decorated religious sanctuaries) presents a talk with slide show on his new volume, Heavenly Bodies, the story of skeletons discovered in the Roman Catacombs in the late sixteenth century. Largely anonymous, they were nevertheless held to be the remains of Early Christian martyrs, and treated as sacred. Sent to Catholic churches and religious houses in German-speaking Europe to replace holy relics that had been destroyed in the wake of the Protestant Reformation, the skeletons were carefully reassembled and richly adorned in jewels and precious costumes by teams of nuns. Intended as flamboyant devotional items, they also turned out to be the finest works of art ever created in human bone. Once part of the spiritual life of many people, as time passed the faith in these sumptuously decorated skeletons wavered, and they were cast out during the Enlightenment as remnants of a superstitious and embarrassing Catholic past. Largely forgotten in the annals of religious history, Dr. Koudounaris gained unprecedented access to religious institutions where the surviving decorated skeletons are held. His photographs are the first that were ever taken of many of them, and the images which will accompany his lecture are bizarre, moving, and beautiful.”

http://www.thelasttuesdaysociety.org/heavenlybodies.html

ILLEGAL GALLERY PRESENTS: Blinged out Skulls

The collection, entitled “Heavenly Bodies,” explores a treasure trove of underground tombs, all thought to hold the remains of early Christian martyrs.

“Skeletons of these supposed saints were subsequently sent to Catholic churches and religious houses in German-speaking Europe to replace holy relics that had been destroyed in the wake of the Protestant Reformation,“ explains Koudounaris’ book of the same name. Basically, after much of the religious art was destroyed by Protestants, the 16th century church decided to treat selected skeletons as if they were saints. The lucky skeletons were then blinged out from skull to toe, drenched in wigs, crowns, jewels, furs and armor.

Koudounaris’ photographs allow a glimpse into the Baroque corners of the most glamorous human remains we could ever imagine, traversing burial grounds from Bolivia to Switzerland to Indonesia. The stunning photographs capture a dark and decadent ritual just on the heels of Dia de los Muertos. We haven’t been so entranced and creeped out at the same time since riding Pirates of the Caribbean.

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