while head-shaped reliquaries are one possibility, another
is simply "art object" Iceland alone boasts no less than four
"heads of john the baptist" (sometimes specified as "on a dish")
there is no indication that these are reliquaries.
on the other hand, iceland tended to import alabaster carvings
from (?) Nottingham - there has been a catalog of ecclesiastical
alabaster from this source for which i unfortunately do not have
the reference. among other products, however, were alabaster
carvings of the head of the baptist on a dish.
as a postscript, two of the icelandic churches which record
ownership of heads of the baptist also own images of his
parents.
Margaret Cormack [log in to unmask]
Dept. of Philosophy and Religion fax: 843-953-6388
College of Charleston tel: 843-953-8033
Charleston, SC 29424-0001
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