Reliquary box - Meerschaum, Metal - 1850-1900 - Saint John Francis Regis, S.J.

Singular nineteenth-century devotional reliquary with a delicate relief carved in septaria or sea sponge, protected by convex glass and framed in a metal mount with an antique patina.

The scene depicts St. John Francis Regis, S.J. C. John Francis Regis, S.J. (Fontcouverte, January 31, 1597 – Lalouvesc, December 30, 1640) was a Catholic Jesuit priest and French saint, a missionary nicknamed "the Apostle of Velay and Vivarais".

It preserves evident signs of age and wear on the mount and the reverse, in keeping with its era.
Approximate dimensions: 5 × 4 × 1 cm.

A small and evocative piece of sacred art, especially interesting for its iconography and for the delicacy of its execution.