Reliquary

Known as the reliquary of Queen Leonor (1458-1525), this is a unique piece in Portuguese artistic production.
Made in around 1510, this reliquary is built entirely of gold, coloured with vibrant enamels and further enriched with the addition of two emeralds, three rubies and a diamond. Originally designed to house the relic from Christ’s Crown of Thorns, it later had a small cross added to it, in which the relic of the Holy Cross is kept.
What makes this piece exceptional is its singular form, displaying the taste for Antiquity: a direct reflection of the attempts made to recover the ancient classical orders during the Italian Renaissance.