Nicole Wassall
Holy Relic, 2023
A crown of hawthorns, with bloodstone and gold decoration, in a black box with a glass lid and small plaque that reads ‘Holy Relic C33AD’.
42 (h) x 33 (w) x 6 (d) cm
16 1/2 (h) x 13 (w) x 2 3/8 (d) in
16 1/2 (h) x 13 (w) x 2 3/8 (d) in
Copyright The Artist
A crown of hawthorns, with bloodstone and gold decoration, in a black box with a glass lid and small plaque that reads ‘Holy Relic C33AD’. In ancient times hawthorn signified...
A crown of hawthorns, with bloodstone and gold decoration, in a black box with a glass lid and small plaque that reads ‘Holy Relic C33AD’.
In ancient times hawthorn signified the boundary between the known safe civilised world and the wild and mysterious ‘other side’.
In the Christian era it was placed on Jesus’ head during his crucifixion by the Roman soldiers, mocking his title ‘King of the Jews’. According to legend, after the crucifixion Joseph of Arimathea (a wealthy merchant and great uncle of Jesus) travelled to Britain searching for somewhere to bury the Holy Grail. He had a staff fashioned from the same hawthorn bush as the crown of thorns. When he arrived at Wearyall Hill, Glastonbury he thrust his staff into the ground and by morning it had burst into flower.
The original Wearyall Hill plant was killed off by vandals in the early 21st century, however, people had taken cuttings from it; ‘Holy Relic’ is made from wood grown from one of those surviving cuttings. The Wearyall Hill hawthorn is unique because it flowers twice a year. Once in May, as is usual for hawthorn plants, but also a second time during the Christmas period. This second flowering is deemed to mark the birth of Christ.
Whilst there is no direct reference to Jesus in ‘Holy Relic’, the crown of thorns is powerfully symbolic and its connection is implied. The piece is also decorated with bloodstones which, according to legend, were formed when Christ’s blood dropped from his body onto jasper stones at the foot of the cross.
Wassall has had personal experience of the miraculous properties of the hawthorn. After contracting COVID 19 she suffered from extremely high blood pressure. She took the leaves from the Wearall Hill hawthorn and made an infusion. Within days her blood pressure had returned to normal levels, and it remains so to this day.
In ancient times hawthorn signified the boundary between the known safe civilised world and the wild and mysterious ‘other side’.
In the Christian era it was placed on Jesus’ head during his crucifixion by the Roman soldiers, mocking his title ‘King of the Jews’. According to legend, after the crucifixion Joseph of Arimathea (a wealthy merchant and great uncle of Jesus) travelled to Britain searching for somewhere to bury the Holy Grail. He had a staff fashioned from the same hawthorn bush as the crown of thorns. When he arrived at Wearyall Hill, Glastonbury he thrust his staff into the ground and by morning it had burst into flower.
The original Wearyall Hill plant was killed off by vandals in the early 21st century, however, people had taken cuttings from it; ‘Holy Relic’ is made from wood grown from one of those surviving cuttings. The Wearyall Hill hawthorn is unique because it flowers twice a year. Once in May, as is usual for hawthorn plants, but also a second time during the Christmas period. This second flowering is deemed to mark the birth of Christ.
Whilst there is no direct reference to Jesus in ‘Holy Relic’, the crown of thorns is powerfully symbolic and its connection is implied. The piece is also decorated with bloodstones which, according to legend, were formed when Christ’s blood dropped from his body onto jasper stones at the foot of the cross.
Wassall has had personal experience of the miraculous properties of the hawthorn. After contracting COVID 19 she suffered from extremely high blood pressure. She took the leaves from the Wearall Hill hawthorn and made an infusion. Within days her blood pressure had returned to normal levels, and it remains so to this day.