Arm reliquary circa 1750 Italian Religious artifact An arm reliquary (or bras-reliquaries) is a ''speaking reliquary''—a sacred vessel shaped like the body part it was intended to house. Beyond being a container for a saint''s remains, every detail of its design served a specific theological and liturgical purpose. The extended index and middle fingers represent the Latin gesture of blessing. This example is aged naturally as you may expect as its over 300 years, it still has a museum stamp to the front sections as shown. The crystal panel that would have been positioned centrally is missing. During the Middle Ages and Baroque periods, these reliquaries were used as ''liturgical props''. Clergy would hold the arm and make the sign of the cross over the congregation, allowing the saint to ''personally'' deliver a blessing to the faithful.By the Baroque era, the cartouche became highly ornamental, often framed by elaborate scrolls or ''strapwork'' to emphasize the importa...