Italy
18th century
Wood, gesso, and gilt
Height: 24¼ in (61.6 cm)
Provenance: Martha Pillard, Honolulu, Hawaii; Christian Rub, Santa Barbara, California
Reliquary busts depicting female saints were produced throughout Catholic Europe from the medieval period onward, serving as both devotional objects and containers for sacred remains. The bust form allowed the reliquary to function as a portrait of the saint while concealing the relic within the chest cavity, typically behind a glazed or hinged compartment. Italian workshops of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries produced these objects in carved and gilded wood, often for church or private chapel use.
This example depicts a young female saint with softly modeled features, curling hair, and draped robes rendered in gesso and gilt over a carved wood armature. A relic compartment is visible at the center of the chest, framed by decorative molding consistent with Italian baroque and rococo workshop conventions. The gilding retains considerable warmth and coverage, and the carving of the drapery and facial features reflects practiced hand work of the period.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
Italy
18th century
Wood, gesso, and gilt
Height: 24¼ in (61.6 cm)
Provenance: Martha Pillard, Honolulu, Hawaii; Christian Rub, Santa Barbara, California
Reliquary busts depicting female saints were produced throughout Catholic Europe from the medieval period onward, serving as both devotional objects and containers for sacred remains. The bust form allowed the reliquary to function as a portrait of the saint while concealing the relic within the chest cavity, typically behind a glazed or hinged compartment. Italian workshops of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries produced these objects in carved and gilded wood, often for church or private chapel use.
This example depicts a young female saint with softly modeled features, curling hair, and draped robes rendered in gesso and gilt over a carved wood armature. A relic compartment is visible at the center of the chest, framed by decorative molding consistent with Italian baroque and rococo workshop conventions. The gilding retains considerable warmth and coverage, and the carving of the drapery and facial features reflects practiced hand work of the period.
We ship free anywhere in the world, fully insured, packed by hand.
