RELIQUARY OF SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI

Rare 18th-century silver reliquary with a glazed front containing a relic of Saint Francis of Assisi.

This circular reliquary features a mount in old silver, now largely patinated, the rim of which is adorned with a crown of pleated metallic cannetille forming a radiant ruff typical of 18th-century Baroque conventual mountings.

The glass front protects an interior composition with stylised vegetal decoration. The background is made of a light beige textile, framed by symmetrical gilded scrolls forming a supple ornamental architecture, punctuated by green-tinted lateral reserves evoking a Franciscan vegetal symbolism related to nature and Creation.

At the centre, the relic appears in the form of a brown-grey fibrous fragment, fixed within a radiant oval of silvered metal threads.

It is identified by a handwritten label:

“S. Fran. As.”
→ Sancti Francisci Assisiensis

Translation: Of Saint Francis of Assisi

This is a contact relic of Saint Francis of Assisi (1181/82–1226), founder of the Order of Friars Minor and a major figure of medieval Christian spirituality.

Good used condition with original glass.
Unopened.
Ecclesiastical seal and silk threads present.

PERIOD : 18th century
DIMENSION : 4 cm × 3.5 cm
SIZE : 1.6" × 1.4"

The presence of a relic of Saint Francis of Assisi places this reliquary within the Franciscan devotional tradition, one of the most influential in the Christian West. Francis embodies radical poverty, imitation of the suffering Christ, and universal love for Creation. The first stigmatic in Christian history, he remains a major mystical figure, a bridge between contemplation and evangelical action.

Historically, the dissemination of his relics accompanied the rapid expansion of the Franciscan Order throughout Europe. However, the fragments preserved in 18th-century reliquaries testify to controlled distributions, often linked to convents or confraternities affiliated with Franciscan spirituality.