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The architecture, the set of figures, and the inscriptions of the Gozbert censer, created about 1100, proclaim a complex message depicting the story of salvation.
A censer is a vessel in which small pieces of incense are scattered over glowing coals of charcoal. The incense wafting during processions and liturgical acts disseminates a perfumed smoke, which is created by swinging the censer, which, for this reason, has numerous openings. A chain is necessary to swing the censer.
The Gozbert censer (8.5 in/21.5 cm high) was created probably around 1100 in Trier and is considered one of the most significant works of artistic bronze casting in the Rhineland.
Rising above the foot, ringed by an inscription, the lower section is seemingly held by 4 atlantes, ancient figures used in place of columns. The censer begins above this section, designed in the shape of a cruciform central-plan building with four apses. On the four sides, the half figures represent Moses with his staff, Aaron with a censer, and the two prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah.
The upper story of the church building rises above separating bands of inscription, then is crowned by a richly adorned gable and roof area: four turrets on the roof are placed on the corners above the four Old Testament figures that bear the corners of the building. In between are the gables of the four sides of the church, on which 3-dimensional figures stand: Abel with a lamb, Melchizedek with bread and chalice, Abraham, who is attempting to sacrifice his son, and Isaac, blessing Jacob instead of Esau. The censer is crowned by a throne where Solomon sits with crown of fleur-de-lis, sceptre, and imperial orb. Fourteen lions are seated around the throne.
Four chains are attached to the censer to hold it; these in turn are attached to single larger chain affixed to a chain holder. This holder is composed of four round medallions depicting the Apostles Peter, Paul, James, and John. Between the medallions are four dragons, and the center is crowned with Christ on His throne.
In its architecture and its figures, the Gozbert Censer illustrates a complex configuration depicting the story of salvation, which is explained through numerous Latin inscriptions. Thus the originally gilded censer may be interpreted as a depiction of the heavenly Jerusalem.
It is designed as a church building that displays the perfect number of 100 in the number of windows. Solomon on the throne with his lions, which represent the prophets of the Old Testament, points to Christ of the New Testament on His throne. The two sets of four figures on the censer recall persons from the Old Testament who point to the New Covenant celebrated in the Eucharist.
The bronze caster memorialized himself with an inscription that calls the observer or reader to pray for him. On the lower edge of the foot, it states: “You who reads this, whoever you are, pray that Gozbertus may live!” It is not known for which church his grand censer was created. It was discovered in the parish church in Buchholz near Manderscheid in 1846.
Author:Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Schmid
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