page_title: Reliquary
section_title: Forms
hierarchical_section_title: Reliquary / In Christianity / Forms
caption_attribution_description: This picture is of the ruby and gold relic casket holding a crystal reliquary with three fragments of bone, believed to be relics of Gautama Buddha, buried by the Kushan Emperor Kanishka in the 2nd century A.D. at his stupa in Peshawar (now in Pakistan) from where they were sent by the British for safekeeping to Mandalay, Burma in 1910. To the left of the ruby and gold casket is a miniature golden stupa in which the relics were transported to Mandalay
context_page_description: A reliquary is a container for relics. These may be the purported or actual physical remains of saints, such as bones, pieces of clothing, or some object associated with saints or other religious figures. The authenticity of any given relic is often a matter of debate; for that reason, some churches require documentation of the relic's provenance.
  Relics have long been important to Buddhists, Christians, Hindus and to followers of many other religions. In these cultures, reliquaries are often presented in shrines, churches, or temples to which the faithful make pilgrimages in order to gain blessings.
  The term is sometimes used loosely of containers for the body parts of non-religious figures; in particular the Kings of France often specified that their hearts and sometimes other organs be buried in a different location from their main burial.
context_section_description: The earliest reliquaries were essentially boxes, either simply box-shaped or based on an architectural design, taking the form of a model of a church with a pitched roof.  These latter are known by the French term chasse, and typical examples from the 12th to 14th century have wooden frameworks with gilt-copper plaques nailed on, decorated in champlevé enamel.  Limoges was the largest centre of production; NB the English usage differs from that of the French châsse, which denotes large size rather than shape.
  Relics of the True Cross became very popular from the 9th century onwards and were housed in magnificent gold and silver cross-shaped reliquaries, decorated with enamels and precious stones. From about the end of the 10th century, reliquaries in the shape of the relics they housed also became popular; hence, for instance, the skull of Pope Alexander I was housed in a head-shaped reliquary. Similarly, the bones of saints were often housed in reliquaries that recalled the shape of the original body part, such as an arm or a foot.
  Many Eastern Orthodox reliquaries housing tiny pieces of relics have circular or cylindrical slots in which small disks of wax-mastic are placed, in which the actual relic is embedded.
  A philatory is a transparent reliquary designed to contain and exhibit the bones and relics of saints.  This style of reliquary has a viewing portal by which to view the relic contained inside.
  During the later Middle Ages, the monstrance form, mostly used for consecrated hosts, was sometimes used for reliquaries. These housed the relic in a rock crystal or glass capsule mounted on a column above a base, enabling the relic to be displayed to the faithful. Reliquaries in the form of large pieces of metalwork jewellery also appeared around this time, housing tiny relics such as pieces of the Holy Thorn, notably the Holy Thorn Reliquary now in the British Museum.
caption: Reliquaries holding relics of the Buddha from a stupa in Kanishka, Peshawar, Pakistan, now in Mandalay, Burma. Teresa Merrigan, 2005
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