A reliquary is a receptacle for keeping or
displaying sacred relics. For Christians, relics
were objects connected with saints or the actual
physical remains of saints. The veneration of the
sacred relics of martyrs is a practice known to
date from at least as early as the 2nd century.
The Crusades led to an influx of relics from the
Middle East and reliquaries became popular
items of adornment used for protection by
crusaders and the wealthy elite who could afford
such luxuries. Although the practice of
veneration was defended both by the 13th
century theologian St. Thomas Aquinas and by
the Council of Trent in the 16th century, the
veneration of icons has always had a greater
importance in the Eastern Orthodoxy.
This beautiful Byzantine reliquary cross once
housed the relics of a Christian martyr. The
Latin-shaped cross has been incised with a
representation of Mary on the front and a now
lost decorative inlay on the reverse. The Virgin is
shown with her arms outstretched in prayer, bent
upward towards the heavens. This specific pose
is known as the Virgin Orans, meaning “Praying
Virgin.” The Virgin is identified by the Greek
inscription “MT THO,” meaning mater theou,
translated as "Mother of God." The forms of the
Virgin have been abstracted. This suggestive
style heightens the spirituality of the work, for it
is the idea of the holiness of the figure that is
the focus, not her physicality. A large central
depression where an inlaid decorative element
would have once been place marks the reverse.
Incised petals surround the lost inlay, suggesting
that it would have been a colorful piece of stone
or glass, suggestive of a flower. The sacred,
protective energies of this spectacular reliquary
cross continue to radiate outwards, still as potent
and powerful as the day it was first worn.
- (X.0058)
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