When was the Relief with Addorsed Ducks made?
This relief panel is thought to have been carved around the 9th or 10th centuries. The Holy Roman Empire ruled over much of Europe, including much of Italy, at this time. In 800, Pope Leo III, the head of the Roman Catholic church, crowned Charlemagne emperor. Charlemagne, a hero of his time, was known to have made the journey to the Holy Land, and his reverence of luxury silks is infamous. Goods such as silks are the types of items Charlemagne, and later the crusaders during the crusades, would have returned home with from the Holy Land with the intention of displaying them for status or giving them as gifts.
The main trade and travel routes from the eastern and western worlds passed through the Byzantine Empire or the Holy Land and coastal Italian port cities. Luxury goods from these foreign lands such as spices, dyes, and silks, were imported to Italy and then resold throughout Europe.
