Oval glass-fronted silvered brass reliquary theca housing the first-class ex ossibus (from the bone) relic of Saint Agatha of Sicily. The relic is affixed to a silk background decorated by gilt paperolle and silver cord ornamentation and identified on a manuscript cedula label as S. Agathae Vir. et Mart. (From the bone of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr). On the back, the theca is secured with a perfectly preserved seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of a coat of arms of an unidentified Roman Catholic bishop.
Saint Agatha of Sicily (†251) is venerated as a saint and martyr in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodox Churches. She is a holy patron of bellfounders; breast cancer; bakers; Catania, Sicily; protection from natural disasters; fire; earthquakes; volcanic eruptions; jewelers; nurses; rape victims; single laywomen; sterility; torture victims; nurses; wet nurses; as well as Sicily; San Marino; and Zamarramala, Spain. Her feast day is commemorated on February 5th.