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Girona Art Museum

Reliquary

Reliquary, 17th century. Cast in gilded silver, embossed, chiselled and burin engraved with embedded hard stones, 27.5 x 20 x 16 cm. Episcopal Palace, Girona. Girona Art Museum.

Reliquary, 17th century. Cast in gilded silver, embossed, chiselled and burin engraved with embedded hard stones, 27.5 x 20 x 16 cm. Episcopal Palace, Girona. Girona Art Museum.

Reliquary in the shape of a bust with the image of an unidentified saint from the Episcopal Palace of Girona. Made of gilded and embossed silver, in the centre of the bust is an oval receptacle surrounded by red stones and a larger recessed stone set in the top centre, in the form of a flower. This was where the relics of the revered saint were kept visible.

Reliquary busts were usually placed on the altar in liturgical celebrations in honour of the saint or to accompany religious processions. They drew in the faithful and believers and enjoyed great popularity during the Catholic Counter-Reformation, when emphasis was placed on the belief in the intercessory capacity of saints and the relics themselves.

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