Ciborium with Angels and Scenes from the Martyrdom of St. Christina

Abstract

This magnificent glazed terracotta ciborium was originally placed over the tomb of St. Christina, in the grotto of Santa Cristina in Bolsena, was moved in 1881 to the Cappella di Sant'Angelo in the same church and then in 1993 to the Cappella di San Michele in the same church, where it still stands. Cardinal Giovanni di Medici (later Pope Leo X) commissioned the work from Benedetto Buglione in 1493-7 as a part of a major campaign to redecorate the church and tomb of the martyr, largely carried out by Buglione, who was involved in the architectural design of the facade and many sculptures on the interior and exterior of the church. The ornate ciborium includes angels, garlands, the infant Christ standing on a chalice (an allusion to the consecrated host kept here), the coat of arms of Giovanni di Medici (on the bottom left), and three different scenes of torture endured by St. Christina in the predella: St. Christina being burned in boiling oil, St. Christina having her breasts cut off (with an idol falling from a column behind), and St. Christina being shot with arrows. According to legend, Christina was tortured in many ways for smashing pagan idols, before her eventual beheading. Photograph(s) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.