RELIQUARY OF THE TRUE CROSS AND THE PRINCIPAL APOSTLES

Rare late 18th – early 19th-century silver-plated metal reliquary with a glass front, containing a fragment of the True Cross and relics of the principal Apostles.

This exceptional oval reliquary features a silver-plated metal setting with its original suspension loop. Its glazed front protects a remarkable devotional composition arranged around a cross of white ribbons.

The background consists of a red textile. At the centre is a cross of white silk ribbons bearing a precious fragment of the True Cross, identified by a handwritten scroll:

« Vera Crux »

→ The True Cross.

Around this cross are arranged relics accompanied by handwritten labels identifying the principal Apostles:

• S. Jacob. M. — Saint James the Greater
• S. Jac. Min. — Saint James the Less
• S. Mathæi — Saint Matthew
• S. Philipp. Ap. — Saint Philip the Apostle
• S. Simon. A. — Saint Simon the Apostle
• S. Barthol. M. — Saint Bartholomew
• S. Jude. T. — Saint Jude Thaddeus
• S. Thoma Ap. — Saint Thomas
• S. Petri Ap. — Saint Peter the Apostle
• S. Pauli Ap. — Saint Paul the Apostle
• S. Andreæ A. — Saint Andrew the Apostle

Together, they form a remarkable collective reliquary combining a fragment of the True Cross with apostolic relics.

Good state of preservation.
Antique glass.
Ecclesiastical seal and silk threads present.

PERIOD: late 18th – early 19th century
DIMENSIONS: 8 cm × 6 cm
SIZE: 3.15" × 2.36"

Reliquaries combining a fragment of the True Cross with relics of the Apostles rank among the most prestigious compositions in Catholic devotional tradition. The Cross naturally occupies the centre of the composition, recalling Christ's redemptive sacrifice, while the Apostles, the first witnesses of His Resurrection, are arranged around it as the foundations of the Church.

The cross-shaped arrangement against a red background carries profound symbolic meaning. Red evokes the blood shed by Christ and the martyrs, while the white cross recalls the instrument of Redemption. The apostolic relics radiate around this spiritual centre, expressing the unity of the Church around the Passion of Christ.

The reverse is of particular historical interest. It retains several handwritten annotations documenting the history of the reliquary during the 19th and early 20th centuries, together with its original wax seal. One of these explicitly records the opening of the reliquary with the permission of the Ordinary for the Poor Clares of Millau in November 1915, confirming that the object then belonged to the Monastery of the Poor Clares of Millau (France). Another note records an intervention carried out in 1823, demonstrating that this reliquary was carefully maintained and passed down within a religious community for nearly a century.

These successive inscriptions provide exceptional evidence of the material and liturgical history of the object. They document not only its authenticity, but also its history within a French contemplative religious community, something relatively rare for a reliquary of this period. They therefore add a genuine historical and documentary dimension to its devotional significance, making this piece a valuable witness to the continuity of relic veneration from the end of the Ancien Régime to the beginning of the 20th century.