Saint Nicholas († ca. 345) was buried in a church in Myra (modern-day Turkey) and his tomb by the Middle Ages already became a popular place of Christian pilgrimage. In May of 1087, under the pretext of preserving them from the Muslim Turks who occupied Myra, relics of the Saint were stolen by Italian merchants from the place of his burial and transported to Italy where they are still kept in a crypt of a specially built Basilica of St. Nicholas in Bari. According to legend, when Italian merchants opened the sarcophagus, a spicy smell of myrrh spread from the relics of Saint. Merchants from Bari managed to take only some of the relics of the Saint, leaving many smaller fragments in the grave. These fragments were collected by Venetian sailors during the First Crusade (1096-1099) and taken to Venice, where they were kept in the church of St. Nicholas. Modern scientific research in Bari and Venice proved that fragments in two cities belonged to the same skeleton. A small part of the relics is still kept in Turkey in Church of St. Nicholas.
Oval crystal-fronted silver reliquary theca housing the first-class Ex Ossibus (of the bone) relic of Saint Nicholas of Bari, Bishop of Myra. The relic is affixed to a silk ground surrounded by silver wire and gilt paperolle ornamentation and identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as S. Nicholai Ep. My. / de Bario (Saint Nicholas, Bishop of Bari). On the back, the theca is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of a coat of arms of Fr. Francesco Saverio Cristiani O.E.S.A. († 1800), Titular Bishop of Porphyreon in a capacity of the Sacristan of the Apostolic Palace during the pontificate of Pope Pius VI (p. 1775-1799). The reliquary is accompanied by the original matching authentics document issued by Fr. Cristiani in 1793.
Additional Info
- ID#: 347-RSCR-17
- Size: 37 x 32 mm
- Age: ca. 1793
- Origin: Rome, Italy
- Materials: silver, crystal, glass, paper, silk, Spanish wax
- Price: Price upon request
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Additional Images of this Item
Level 60 Trading Co,, LLC
1089 Commonwealth Ave #314,
Boston, MA 02215, USA
Tel: (+1) 786-206-9894
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Level 60 Trading Co,, LLC
1089 Commonwealth Ave #314,
Boston, MA 02215, USA
Tel: (+1) 786-206-9894
Our local time is
Online Store & Services
Information
Quick Link
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