Cabinet Reliquary with Relic of the True Cross and 26 Saints, wood, textiles, Central Europe, 18th century

An 18th-century Baroque cabinet reliquary, a freestanding wooden display case of trapezoidal form, containing a total of 27 relics. The side walls and top are chamfered, widening toward the front. The interior is lined with burgundy velvet, trimmed with decorative borders of gold bullion thread.

At the center, set slightly forward from the back, is a raised textile reliquary in the form of a monstrance, embroidered with gold thread and richly adorned with bullion, filigree, miniature beads, and multicolored glass imitating precious stones. On the base and shaft are placed six relics, identified by inscriptions painted in gold on dark blue banderoles.

Within the central repository is a reliquary capsule with a convex glass cover, containing two fragments of the True Cross, surrounded by a radiant glory.

Above the “monstrance” is an oval image with an indistinct representation, encircled by 20 additional relics interspersed with decorative elements of bullion, beads, gold thread embroidery, and colored glass. At the level of the nodus are two larger relics (Ex Ossibus) of Saint Vincent and Saint Fortunatus, uniquely labeled on white banderoles.

A distinction should be made between a reliquary and a reliquary cabinet: a reliquary is a vessel that directly contains relics, whereas a cabinet reliquary serves as a structure housing and presenting them. This object is therefore not a typical example, as—besides the central textile reliquary in the form of a monstrance containing fragments of the Cross on which Jesus Christ died—it also incorporates an additional 26 relics of various saints placed directly within the composition, without individual containers.

Their preservation is ensured either by a fine mesh covering or solely by labeled banderoles. The relic of the True Cross is the only one enclosed within a glazed, and undoubtedly sealed, capsule.

The interior of the case, measuring 37.3 × 26.5 × 10 cm, is lined with burgundy velvet, trimmed with gold bullion thread.