Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-02-02


eight inches
The little that remained OF the great
emberor was again restored TO the casket
and II was placed permanently IN the
treasury of the cathedral. where 1t now
may be seen. 1t has lain there ever since.
Photographing the Brocades.
Last year Prof Leasing. director OF the
i, Royal Museum OF Industrial Arts. obt5in-
ed permission from the kaiser to reopen
the shrine for the purpose OF examining
and photosraphing the famous brocades
In which the bones arc wrapped. The
consent OF the ecclesiastical authorities
was obtained. brief religious ceremony
was held. and in a brief address the dean
of the cathedral explained that the act
was in the interest of the history OF
art The witnesses were the dean and
chapter of the cathedral. the Bishop or
Cologne, DIR. Schnutgen a famous arche-
ologiSt. the Oberburgomaster of AiN-la-
Chapele. Prof Leasing, Director Schwei,
ger of the museum at AK, a painter. 4
photographer. stenographcr and gold
| smith.
| When the lid Of the shrine was lifted IL
was found TO contain three or four bones
| of the legs. arms and diaphragm. Tie
4 rest of the skeleton had crumbled II
dust. These bones were wrapped in tha
/ brocades. and. lying beside them were
/ three parchment records concerning the
/ reSurrectionS of 14S1, 1Sfs and 1851 The
brocades were so fragile that the original
| intention to photograph them on the spot
and return them Immediately L. ths
shrine could not he carried out. and II
was decided to take them TO Berlin. After
| having been carefully reproduced III
| fabric. photographed. sketched and paint
| ed in water colors. they were returne. tn
AK and solemnly replaced i'm the shrine.
/ There are two pieces now designated as
4 he
The Saracen measures eight feet four
| inches by five feet: the Elephant is fiva
[ feet by four feet six inches. The Ele-
plant represents the Holy Virgin with a
| child in her arms. her robe held back
| by two angels. and on either side OF her
| kneeling groups of saints and martyrs.
| The Saracen represents a warrior riding
four horses abreast with his feet upon
/ the two outside horses. On either side
! of him are orderlies or knights following.
! and i'm the foreground figure which re-
sembles elephant. The animals are
of more or less fantastic shape
Gcheimrat Leasing and his advisers de-
termined that the elephant brocade was
woven in the Persian town of Ctesiphon
| about the beginning of the seventh CEN
fury. and that Charlemacne received ~
as a gift from the Byzantine emperor OF
ConstantinopIe and wore il as part OF
the imperial robes. The Saracen bears
an inscription indicating that II was
! wrought at the imperial looms i'm Con-
| command of the Lord of the Privy Purse.
whose name is not given. There is no
date.
The colors i'm both are as fresh as they
must have been at the time they We're
placed i'm the sarcophagus. and include
marvellous shades of purple. emerald
green. sapphire blue. yellow. lemon and
white.
Aix-la-Chapelle.
Aix-la -Chapelle. you know. is an ancient
Roman city, and was resort Of invalids
i'm Roman times. 1t is now thoroughly
modern town, with the exception Of the
old cathedral and few other buildings
a busy manufacturing center of 10000 in
habitants, with 100 textile factories,
forty-five iron foundries and machine
shops and other industries. There isn't
much to see. although the little is very.
very rare for Chapelle was the residence
of the Frankish kings when 1t was con-
quered by the Caesars before the Chris
ton era. IT was the capital of the holy
Roman empire for 200 years. Charlemagne
reigned there for twenty-six years. he
died there I'm S14, and thirty emperors,
his successors on the throne, were crown
ed in the old cathedral which he began
in 1916 and completed in SO4. The portion
erected by him in an octagon AZ feet IN
diameter and 11S feet high. copied from
early Italian examples.
In the vestibuie of the west portal which
has beautiful bronze doors cast about the
year S0i, is a bronze figure of snarling
wolf. 1t is said to have been made In
Rome in the third century. and Bine
Cone. cast at tie same time, occupies a
similar pedestal.
According to a legend his satanic majesty
assisted Charlemagne i'm the CONSTRUCTION
of the church, on the condition that the
first living being that crossed the thresh-
old should yield up its soul to him. The
emperor accepted the proposition and
when the time came outwitted ta;e devil
by driving wolf through the door on
the day that the building was completed.