"Rare Reliquary With 19 Relics – Cross Of The Wood Of The True Cross – Italy, 18th Century"
Rare Reliquary with 19 Relics – Cross of the Wood of the True Cross – Italy, 18th Century Authentic rectangular Baroque reliquary containing 19 relics of saints, centered around a fragment of lignum crucis (wood of the true cross), mounted within a hand-painted polychrome mandorla-shaped decoration. Each relic is identified by a handwritten inscription painted on a band.
The whole is contained in an original silver or silver-plated brass frame with an antique bail, and the reverse is closed with a printed religious engraving (cherub with a sheaf and illuminated letter).
Description
Saints identified on the reliquary: (based on the inscriptions visible on the bands) 1. S. Antonii Pad. – Saint Anthony of Padua 2. S. Gregorii D. – Saint Gregory the Great (pope)
3. S. Maximi – Saint Maximus (probably Maximus of Turin or Maximus of Naples)
4. S. Cosmae – Saint Cosmas (of the holy physicians Cosmas and Damian)
5. S. Praciosa M. – Saint Precious, martyr
6. S. Verda D.S.F. – Saint Verda, virgin or martyr (obscure)
7. S. Calisto P. – Saint Callistus I, pope and martyr
8. S. Flora V.M. – Saint Flora, Spanish virgin and martyr
9. S. Anuarij – Saint Anwar (Spanish form of Saint Honoratus or other local ?)
10. S. Zarca D.S.F. – Saint Zarca (perhaps a transcription of a local saint, not canonical in the great martyrologies)
11. S. Latina M. – Saint Latina, martyr
12. S. Vincentii M. – Saint Vincent, deacon and martyr (of Zaragoza?)
13. S. Ceciliae – Saint Cecilia, virgin and martyr
14. S. Ludovici – Saint Louis (King of France or Louis of Toulouse)
15. S. Justae – Saint Justa (Justa, Spanish virgin and martyr)
16. S. Martiae – Saint Martia (ancient or local form, little documented)
17. S. Felicis – Saint Felix (of Nola or one of the many homonymous martyrs)
18. S. Amarii – Saint Amarius or Amarinus (monk and martyr)
19. S. Bonifacii – Saint Boniface, Apostle of the Germans
(+ center: Lignum Crucis, fragment of the True Cross)
Dimensions: 7 cm x 6 cm
Condition:
Very good condition – bright colors, no visible loss of relic – slight patina on the metal
In accordance with canon law (can. 1190 §1), this sale concerns only the reliquary as an object of sacred art. The relics it contains are not the subject of the transaction, but are included free of charge for their historical and cultural value.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for any additional information or to request additional photos of the items offered for sale.
Le Magazine de PROANTIC
TRÉSORS Magazine
Rivista Artiquariato
