Reliquary of St. Prosper

home collections chapel of st. john the baptist Reliquary of St. Prosper
INV MPR.15
Relicário de São Próspero

AUTHOR
Carlo Guarnieri (1710-1774?), ativ. 1745-1774

PLACE/DATE
Italy, Rome, 1751-1752 or 1753-1754

MATERIALS
Prata fundida, cinzelada e dourada

DIMENSIONS
Cast, chased, and gilt silver

INV
MPR.15

This reliquary, together with another of St. Valentine, make up a pair designed ad urna, that is, in the shape of an urn, with a polygonal section supported by angels and a palm tree, the lid being decorated with six angels on whose bases we can recognise medallions with scenes from the life of St. John the Baptist, framed by ornamental grammar consisting of scrolls, shells and garlands.

Although only this pair and another of distinctive morphology and composition, in temple form, still exist, they were part of a larger set of eight reliquaries ordered, by letter of 9 March 1744, for the chapel of St. John the Baptist in the Church of São Roque. According to the instructions issued in Lisbon, they were to be suitable for relics that were not only distinct, but of a sufficient size to guarantee the commitment of the artists and the grandeur of the ornament.