The Lothar, or Susanna Crystal

Carolingian, AD 855-869
From Lotharingia (Lorraine), possibly Aachen (in modern Germany)

An exceptionally large rock crystal

The rock crystal is engraved with scenes of the story of Susanna as recorded in the Apocrypha. Each scene is accompanied by an inscription drawn from the Vulgate (the Latin translation of the Bible made by St Jerome). In the first four scenes Susanna is shown accosted by the elders, falsely accused and convicted of adultery. The last scenes show the elders being questioned by Daniel, condemned for false witness and executed. The final scene shows Susanna declared innocent. The figures are executed in the energetic figural style known as the Rheims style which derived from manuscript drawings such as the Utrecht Psalter.

According to an inscription engraved on the crystal it was engraved for Lothar, 'King of the Franks', most probably Lothar II of Lotharingia (AD 855-69). It is likely that the crystal, made for a king and meant to be seen at court, was intended to exemplify the proper functioning of justice. However, there is an irony to the subject matter, as Lothar tried many times to have his marriage annulled so he could marry his mistress., which resulted in a bitter dispute between Lothar and Pope Nicholas I.

From the tenth century until 1793 the crystal was in the abbey of Waulsort in Belgium. Supposedly the crystal was cracked when thrown into the Meuse during the sack of Waulsort by the French in 1793.

The crystal is framed in a fifteenth-century gilded copper frame.

G. Kornbluth, Engraved gems of the Carolingi (Pennsylvania State University, 1995)

G. Kornbluth, 'The Susanna Crystal of Lothar II: Chastity, the Church and Royal Justice', Gesta, XXX/1 (1992), pp. 25-39