Following on from the theme of ‘nature as religion’, I was interested in the way that objects are handled in religious contexts as containers of the divine, and I wanted to gather some natural objects and elevate them in a similar way. I chose to use an acorn because of its connection with the Major Oak image that inspired me, and I also like the manner in which it contains all the genetic information of the tree.
I like the way in which medieval reliquaries were made specifically for the object they contained, and were ornate designs made to display the object in the best manner to elevate its status. I also love the qualities of old hand-made glass.
Reliquary with rock crystal vessel, c. 1200 – 1230, Wyvern Collection
Reliquary pendant of the Holy Thorn, c. 1340, British Museum
Reliquary of St Anna’s arm, 14th century, St Lawrence Cathedral’s Treasure Museum
Using an acorn from the Major Oak was not possible since it is a Site of Special Scientific Interest, so I decided to sculpt one in sculptor’s wax, using gathered material as reference. I used a gold polish as a way of elevating the object and emphasising its connection to the divine. I designed a reliquary in the shape of an acorn with an acorn cup as the base, and a transparent dome for viewing the acorn inside.
Originally, I wanted to make the dome using a kiln and lost wax casting process, however it would not have been possible to make it transparent due to the difficulty of polishing inside the dome after casting. Instead, I decided to make the dome using stained glass.
