Reliquary painted with scenes from the life of Christ

The relic is kept in the “Treasury” of the Chapel of the Sancta Sanctorum in the Lateran Palace in Rome. Wooden reliquary box painted with scenes from the life of Christ from 6th century. The reliquary box made in Palestine was a part of Sancta Sanctorum Chapel in the Lateran Palace in Rome. It is among the earliest evidence of the custom of bringing back memory objects from a trip to the Holy Land.

The stones and earth conserved inside, carefully set in grout, bear inscriptions in Greek characters including an accurate identification of their origins. The encaustic paintings on the inside of the lid are arranged according to a precise ascending order, in order to form a concise "Christmas" cycle (with the Nativity and Baptism), followed by an equally short "Easter" cycle (with the Holy Women at the tomb and the Ascension), divided by the central scene of the Crucifixion. All the figurative depictions, drawn from the Gospel, are among the first iconographic formulations of their respective subjects.

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