A Reliquary Frame With A Miniature Depicting The “mystical Marriage Of Saint Catherine.”

Reliquary frame with a miniature depicting the “Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine.” Vellum, blackened wood, bronze, marble, agate, etc. Italian or Spanish school, 17th century.
Empty reliquary.
A slightly rectangular frame made of blackened wood, fitted with a ring on the back for wall mounting. The top is crowned with a gilded bronze finial depicting an angel’s head and a series of architectural and plant motifs arranged symmetrically. The front features fine, smooth moldings in blackened wood as well as two bands of gilded bronze: the outer band is engraved with gilded bronze motifs, featuring heart-shaped corners inlaid with agates, ovals on the central sides (with agates and lapis lazuli), and bands of veined red stone dotted with small marks; the central band, also engraved with scrolls and quatrefoils at the corners, features a miniature in its center. The miniature on vellum in the center depicts a theme known as the “Mystical Marriage of Saint Catherine” and is closely inspired by an engraving by Carlo Maratta or Maratti (Camerano, 1625 – Rome, 1713) created around 1645–1650, of which several copies are known (LACMA, inv. M.84.234.2; National Galleries of Scotland, P 5316; National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., inv. no. 1985.54.2; Francesco Podesti Civic Art Gallery; Vatican Museums; etc.). Note the similarity of the frame to two pieces preserved in the reliquary of the Royal Monastery of the Incarnation in Madrid (inventory numbers 00620062 and 00620088), anonymous Italian works dating from the mid-17th century (after 1640), made of blackened wood and bronze, with paintings on copper (measuring 78 x 56 x 4 cm and 78 x 55.5 x 4 cm, respectively). The central section features volutes (simpler in this version) and quatrefoils at the corners, and the similarity of the upper finial on all three frames is truly striking. Among the elements suggesting that this reliquary was made in Spain, are the simplified engraving on the bronze, the combinations of ovules with agates of different colors surrounding very small pieces of lapis lazuli, as well as the resemblance of the stones in the rectangular areas to “Cabra marble” from Córdoba, in Spain (sources report the large-scale operation of a “red jasper” quarry in the district of Losilla, in the municipality of Cabra, in the early 17th century; in 1627, the Cabra City Council purchased the lands of Losilla, thereby acquiring the finest red jasper quarry known at the time; items made from this stone are preserved at the Royal Palace in Madrid).,
· Dimensions: 37 x 4 x 57 cm