Reliquary - Wood, Textile - 19th century - Ex Habitu - Saint Leonard of Porto Maurizio

This reliquary panel, dedicated to Saint Leonard of Porto Maurizio, is enclosed within a carved and goldleafed wooden frame, whose surface reveals the red bole preparation in several spots due to timewear. The upper part of the frame is adorned with a shaped cornice in a floating ribbon motif, at the center of which is carved a rosette into which a simple Latin cross is set. The interior of the panel, lined with a deep red silk or velvet fabric, hosts an elaborate decorative composition in gold filigree, enriched with tiny pearls and sequins forming motifs of wheat spikes and floral corollas around the central oval reliquary. The reliquary holds a fragment of the saint’s garment and is wrapped by a paper cartouche bearing the Latin inscription Ex Habitu B. Leonardi a Portu Mauritio. The back of the reliquary is protected by a blue paper covering and is sealed at the four corners with red wax seals bearing an ecclesiastical coat of arms, placed to guarantee the inviolability of the custody and the authenticity of the relic.

Leonardo da Porto Maurizio, Latinized as Paolo Girolamo Casanova (Porto Maurizio, December 20, 1676 – Rome, November 26, 1751), was a reformatted Friar Minor of the Franciscan order, one of the earliest and most important promoters of the practice of the Way of the Cross; he was canonized by Pope Pius IX in 1867.

The reliquary contains no human remains.

This object is offered exclusively for its historical, cultural, or decorative value. No religious significance is claimed, implied, or asserted.