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Source Description
This reliquary would originally have contained what was thought to be a body part or other physical remains of a saint. The richness of the container honors the sanctity of the relic (now lost). It would have been placed under glass in the morse (clasp) of a cope. While the bust dates from the 17th century, the head is an 18th-century replacement.Protestants considered Catholics' deep devotion to the saints and their relics as bordering on idolatry. To counter this, the Church vigorously reasserted that while worship was due only to Christ and to God, the veneration, or honoring, of saints and also of their relics (as physical manifestations of their lives and merits) was important in gaining the aid of the saints in seeking God's mercy.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
10199
label
Reliquary in the Shape of the Bust of a Saint
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
10199
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Reliquary in the Shape of the Bust of a Saint
description
This reliquary would originally have contained what was thought to be a body part or other physical remains of a saint. The richness of the container honors the sanctity of the relic (now lost). It would have been placed under glass in the morse (clasp) of a cope. While the bust dates from the 17th century, the head is an 18th-century replacement.Protestants considered Catholics' deep devotion to the saints and their relics as bordering on idolatry. To counter this, the Church vigorously reasserted that while worship was due only to Christ and to God, the veneration, or honoring, of saints and also of their relics (as physical manifestations of their lives and merits) was important in gaining the aid of the saints in seeking God's mercy.
provenance
F. Ongania, Venice [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
1675-1750
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Metal
reliquaries
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
25.9
height
22.5
dimensionsRaw
10 3/16 x 8 7/8 in. (25.9 x 22.5 cm)
Source extras
med
gilded bronze
creator_ids
33562
collection_ids
BAR
exhibition_ids
none
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
fa382c1559bede30