19th Century Baroque Devotional Reliquary

A Baroque-style portable reliquary or devotional altar, probably 19th century, of Italian or Spanish origin. It features a beautiful, highly ornate carved wooden frame, gilded with gold leaf, with Rococo scrolls and a shell-shaped pediment, painted a deep green highlighted with gold. The interior scene is a three-dimensional religious diorama behind glass, with small polychrome figurines arranged on a rocky landscape. The central figure, draped in red (partially hidden), is likely Jesus or a saint, surrounded by smaller figures—one appears to be a child saint, another a kneeling worshipper. Such objects were used for private devotion, often housing relics or depicting scenes such as the Nativity, the Holy Family, or Marian apparitions. The theatrical style and gilding recall the tradition of Neapolitan or Sicilian presepi (nativity scenes), although the subject matter may differ. The glass and the shape in the display case indicate that it was intended to be displayed on an altar, in a domestic chapel, or carried in processions.