St. John of Britto’s reliquary-chest
AUTHOR
Heinrich Mannlich (ca. 1625-1698)
PLACE/DATE
Germany, Augsburg, 1694-1698
MATERIALS
Chased and gilt silver, glass and silk embroidered with gilt metallic thread
DIMENSIONS
54 x 93 x 42 cm
INV
RL.625
This magnificent reliquary-chest belonged to King Pedro II (1648-1706) and was offered to the Church and Professed house of São Roque by his son John V (1689-1750).
It was probably made on the occasion of the beatification of the martyr St. John of Britto (1647-1693), in order to place the cleaver with which the Jesuit missionary was beheaded in India in 1693, which explains the unusual morphology of the piece. For a long time it was attributed a Eucharistic function, as evidenced by the addition of the top, representing the Agnus Dei. In this context, it was used as a chest to keep the Blessed Sacrament on Holy Thursday, as a replacement tabernacle.