The "material turn" has led to stimulating new questions, new research areas, and new research perspectives in numerous humanities and social science disciplines. The term material culture as it relates to craftsmanship is to be understood in its broadest possible dimensions, from a multi-panel altar to a simple guilded cabinet storing the candles for civic processions. Of interest in this text are the form, effect, and function of these objects in their sacred and profane surroundings.