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The Enger Bursa Reliquary

This research project focuses on one of the most famous objects held by the Kunstgewerbemuseum, the Enger bursa (from the Latin for purse) reliquary from the early Middle Ages. In cooperation with the Diozesanmuseum Paderborn, a series of scientific, technical, material and art-historical examinations will be undertaken to more precisely determine the origin of this exceptional work of goldsmithing.

The reliquary originates from the Enger Abbey in Herford, which was founded at the end of the 10th century. Legend has it that the Saxonian duke Widukind, one of the fiercest opponents of the Frankish king Charlemagne, is entombed there. From 777 onwards, Widukind led the Saxons in their war against the Franks, but in 785 he was forced to surrender to their military superiority. The Saxons subsequently converted to Christianity and Widukind was baptized, with Charlemagne apparently acting as his godfather and presenting the Saxonian duke with the bursa as a christening gift.

Following secularization, the abbey’s treasury came into the possession of the Prussian state and its contents were transferred to the collection of the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin in 1885, where the Enger bursa reliquary has been one of the most important artefacts in the medieval collection ever since.

A publication covering the findings of the research project is planned, and will also incorporate insights gleaned from the exhibition Corvey and the Legacy of Antiquity that is set to take place in Paderborn from 21 September 2024 to 26 January 2025.


Contact person: Dr. Jan Friedrich Richter, wissenschaftlicher Mitarbeiter, Kunstgewerbemuseum
Cooperation partner: Diözesanmuseum Paderborn
Funded by: Ernst von Siemens Kunststiftung
Project duration: 2023 bis 2025