Bolognese school of the mid-18th century.
"Reliquary of Saint Catherine of Siena".
Gilded and polychrome wood. Some of the objects in solid silver.
There is a restored break in the top of the urn. The urn is damaged.
Measurements: 50 x 35 x 28 cm.
Large Bolognese Baroque reliquary of Saint Catherine of Siena from the mid-18th century. This rare object of devotion comes, after several generations, from an Italian family from Bologna deeply devoted to the saint, who came into possession of the precious relic in the 18th century and decided to have a showcase built with the diorama of the saint's room in Siena in order to preserve it. The showcase, in the Bolognese Baroque style, is made of carved and gilded wood and ends with a niche containing, in a crown of lilies, a hair of Saint Catherine of Siena closed by the papal seal. The scroll above the relic reads: "Capelo di S. Catera". Inside the showcase there is a table and a chair, as well as some objects related to the saint, such as the crucifix, the book and the inkwell, the oil lamp and the ointments she used when she went to visit the sick. Some of these objects are made of solid silver. Catherine Benincasa (Italian: Caterina Benincasa), in religion Catherine of Siena was born on 25 March 1347 in Siena, Tuscany, and died on 29 April 1380 at the age of 33 in Rome. She was a Dominican mystic tertiary who had a great influence on the Catholic Church. She was declared a saint and Doctor of the Church on 29 June 1461. The piece is in a good state of conservation, with small losses and old restorations to the window, but the original gilding has been preserved.