RELIQUARY. POLYCHROMED WOOD, GLASS, ETC.. SPANISH SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY.

Wall altar reliquary. Carved, polychrome and gilded wood, glass, metal, etc. Spanish school, 17th century. Reliquary altar made of carved, gilded and polychrome wood, composed of a section that imitates a curtain of the type normally used to cover altars and other pieces when they are not in use, topped by a winged angel's head, and a composition organised around a large central tondo, from which emerge a series of stems ending in scrolls. Some of these stems (eight in total) form a kind of crown of leaves at the end, in the centre of which are as many circular reliquaries of saints. In this central tondo mentioned there is an Agnus Dei (or Ágnusdei) made of wax. On the visible side there is an image of the Risen Christ (inspired by the one sculpted by Michelangelo Buonarroti around 1520 and found in Santa Maria sopra Minerva in Rome) accompanied by angels with symbols of the Passion and on a pedestal. It is known that this image was used in these pieces before 1598, again in 1619 and again in 1690. These relics (they are blessed by the Pope) receive their name because on the obverse, above the book with the seven seals, there is printed the Paschal Lamb with a halo carrying the banner of the Resurrection. In the text around the image, there seems to be a reference to Pope Pius V (Pope between 1566 and 1572). The rest of the relics of saints, kept inside tondos with transparent lids, appear identified with the name of the saint to whom the item inside belongs. Mention would be made of Saint Barbara of Nicomedia (3rd-4th century, Christian martyr), Saint Sebastian of Milan (256-288; Christian martyr, saint venerated by the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church), Saint Hermogenes (4th century, Christian martyr who died in Mérida, Badajoz), possibly Saint Attilio (a martyred Roman legionary, belonging to the Theban Legion who, however, does not appear in the Roman Matirology), another martyr saint called Fecina, etc. As for the typology of the reliquary, it is worth highlighting its originality, as it is not the typical model of a painting with sections inside, nor one of the numerous variants of reliquaries to be placed on a table or altar. It should also be noted that with this arrangement, the central medallion blessed by the Pope with the image of the Risen Christ is clearly marked as the “origin” of holiness, adding an important theological component closely related to the Counter-Reformation of the 17th century.

· Size: 60x12x75 cms.