“The Jewish Museum presents a major exhibition this fall that brings Jewish and Christian sacred art from medieval to early modern Europe into dialogue, illuminating complex, interconnected histories across more than six centuries. Sacred Splendor: Jewish Ritual Art and Christian Treasures from St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague features Christian reliquaries on loan from St. Vitus Cathedral—the most extensive presentation of this treasury ever exhibited outside Europe—together with Jewish treasures never before shown in the United States. Through a robust presentation of over 160 objects, the exhibition examines shared urban and artistic environments, and the distinct ritual and theological frameworks that shaped sacred art across Central Europe. Highlights include rarely seen medieval Jewish-owned objects from hoards buried during periods of persecution that remained hidden for centuries, as well as Jewish ceremonial works from Bohemia and the Germanic regions, among them Torah ornaments, metalwork, and manuscripts.” — Jewish Museum

“Sacred Splendor offers a monumental illustration of cultural exchange that demonstrates the shared aesthetics which defined sacred art for Christian and Jewish communities alike from Late Antiquity through the 19th Century,” said James S. Snyder, Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director. “We are thrilled to present stunningly crafted reliquaries from St. Vitus Cathedral together with rare Jewish treasures from the same time notably bringing the Lingenfeld, Weissenfels, and Środa Śląska hoards together for the first time in the U.S. While serving as iconic examples of Christian and Jewish ritual art, these objects also tell stories of the Jewish and Christian experiences of migration, assimilation, and resilience throughout time and across the global diaspora.”

Installation views of “Sacred Splendor: Jewish Ritual Art and Christian Treasures from St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague” at the Jewish Museum, NY, September 18, 2026–February 7, 2027. Photos by Kris Graves.

“Sacred art from medieval and early modern Central Europe emerged from a shared urban world—shaped by the same trade routes, the same cities, often the same artistic workshops,” said Abigail Rapoport, Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Curator of Judaica. “Sacred Splendor brings that world into focus through singular objects, illuminating the visual culture that gave rise to these objects—and the forms of ritual art that continue to shape religious life today.”

“At the heart of this exhibition is how the spiritual manifests differently in the traditions of Judaism and Christianity,” said Claudia Nahson, Morris & Eva Feld Senior Curator. “While Christian reliquaries are repositories of material fragments associated with sacred figures, making the sacred visible, the spirit of Jewish faith, embodied by its objects of ceremonial practice, is primarily rooted in the oral and textual transmission of tradition and the centrality of the Torah.”

Title image: Master Wenceslas, Sacrament house, Prague, c.1375. Gilded iron, 82 11/16 × 19 11/16 × 19 11/16 in. (210 × 50 × 50 cm). The Metropolitan Chapter of St. Vitus in Prague, V 325a. Photo: Martin Polák.

Images courtesy The Jewish Museum.