The Bust of Charlemagne in the Aachen Cathedral treasury is the most spectacular reliquary bust you’ll ever see.

Made around 1350 to house a piece of Charlemagne’s skull and a masterpiece of Mosan goldwork, the gilded silver and gold bust is studded with precious stones and ancient intaglios and cameos — a recognition of the importance of Ancient Rome to the ideology of the Holy Roman Empire.

Photos from March 2023.