Always about twelve centimetres by twelve on an oak board and framed by gilded papier-mâché. In the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, there was ‘mass production’ in various workshops, good for export all over Europe. Trier in Germany, for example, has a large collection, part of which is currently on display in Mechelen.

Actually, there is not much information about the alabaster,’ says curator Bart Stroobants. Of the smaller reliefs typical of Mechelen, it is not clear what they were actually used for. We suspect that they were mainly made for personal use. Many of the reliefs have a religious subject, but there are also scenes from mythology.

The people who devised the exhibition, with Professor Karen De Coene at the helm, wanted to do more than just make an overview exhibition. We want to tell a story,’ says Karen De Coene. We started from the idea that the subjects on the seventeenth-century alabaster are still topical. The central point is desire, and that is of all times.

With video images, each relief refers to contemporary events. We compare Christ nailed to the cross with the Chinese student who tries to stop a tank on his own’, says Karen De Coene. In the Pieta of the grieving Virgin Mary with her dead son, we make the link with the foolish mothers who search for their missing sons in Argentina. Mary Magdalene washing Christ’s feet can be compared to today’s fans who want to touch their idol.