Reliquary Clasp at the Musée de Cluny, Paris

Lucy writes: I recently paid a visit to the Museum of the Middle Ages in Paris (known as the Musée de Cluny) and was very excited by one particular exhibit, a Reliquary Clasp from the mid-fourteenth century. Its origins are uncertain but it would have been used to fasten a ceremonial garment, quite likely a Cope.

It is very large, 18.5cm in diameter. The medallions around the outer rim of the clasp are in fact little philatories, transparent reliquaries which would once have contained relics. It's possible to see tiny labels inside, of the sort that generally accompany relics giving a description, but the relics themselves are absent.

I couldn't help thinking what a magnificent addition this would make to some of the Copes we are asked to repair. I'll definitely be having a look on Etsy to see if I can find anything similar!