Reliquary - .800 silver - 1700-1750 - Two-faced reliquary Arg

Bifront reliquary pendant in filigreed silver with devotional miniatures – Santa Teresa d’Avila and the Holy Face of Christ

Refined bifront devotional reliquary pendant, crafted in silver finely worked with filigree and fretwork, in an elegant late Baroque setting characterized by extraordinary ornamental richness.

The mount features a shaped structure with elaborate scrolls, phytomorphic motifs, curls and small decorative elements obtained with thin silver wires, following the tradition of Italian devotional jewelry and goldsmithing. At the top there is the original suspension ring, intended for use as a personal pendant.

The piece is bifront, with both faces protected by glass.

On the front is depicted a Carmelite saint, identifiable with good probability as Saint Teresa of Ávila, represented in white religious habit and the characteristic black veil. The saint is portrayed in an attitude of intense contemplation, with the cross as the principal attribute of her mystical experience. The painting, handmade on a thin support, preserves a particular devotional immediacy typical of small images intended for private devotion.

On the back appears the Holy Face of Christ, shown frontally within the veil of the Veronica. The face of Christ, with long hair and beard, emerges from a light background with a calm and contemplative expression. It is one of the oldest and most widespread images of Christian devotion, particularly suited to personal objects intended for prayer and spiritual protection.

The juxtaposition of a Carmelite saint image on the front with the Holy Face on the back gives the object a strongly personal and devotional character. Small bifront reliquaries and medallions of this kind were conceived as private devotion objects, easily portable and wearable, and today constitute a sought-after category within religious jewelry and ancient devotional art.

Era: late 18th – 19th century,

The photographs are an integral part of the description and document the conservation state of the specimen.