The key to Saint Servatius

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The key to Saint Servatius

In this focus presentation, you are invited to unravel a mystery. You go in search of the key that unlocks stories about Saint Servatius and reveals how he is depicted in art.

  • Opening: Thursday 12 June 2025
  • On show: 12 June 2025 to 16 November 2025
  • Curator: Jip van Reijen
  • Junior curator: Mees Knarren

Key work

A 16th-century woodcarving depicts a key with five crosses. This key is a reference to the well-known silver relic of the Maastricht saint, ‘the key of Saint Servatius’. On this ‘apostle beam’, however, it is not the Maastricht saint who holds the key, but the apostle St Peter.

The story behind the apostle beam

What is the significance of the key and what can that tell us about the original function of this wooden fragment? Behind this small detail lies a fascinating story that links the woodcarving inextricably to Maastricht.
The imagery of the key of Saint Servatius is explored through international and regional loans. Old masters are displayed alongside modern and contemporary artworks from the Bonnefanten collection.

Bonnefanten celebrates the ‘heiligdomsvaart’

In the year of the ‘heiligdomsvaart’ – a spectacular historical and religious event that takes place in Maastricht every seven years – you will get to know more about its protagonist, Saint Servatius, through this focus presentation in the Bonnefanten.

Publication

For the publication Pilgrimage to Maastricht, The Cult of Saint Servatius and the Veneration of the Relics, Jip van Reijen, curator Old Masters at Bonnefanten, contributed the essay The Iconography of the Key of St. Servatius in Regional Sculpture. Waanders Publishers ISBN 9789462626249.

This exhibition has received support from:
Provincie Limburg, ministerie van OCW, VriendenLoterij

Note for the press:
For more information, please contact Kris Németh through pressoffice@bonnefanten.nl or on +31 (0)6-27364802

PRESSKIT EN

Header: Maastricht area, Part of an apostle beam depicting St. Peter and John, ca. 1480-1520, oak. 32.5 x 90.5 x 15 cm. Collection Bonnefanten. Photo Peter Cox.