Reliquary chest
Author: João Rodrigues
Date: 1787
Material: White silver
Dimensions (cm): H 17,5 x W 26,6
Inscription: ANO 1787
Provenance: Guimarães, Colegiada de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira
Inventory No.: MAS O 59
This reliquary chest, which presents on the cover a date and the mark of Guimarães, contains in its interior, covered with crimson velvet, Saint Rodrigo’s skull set in silver.
The surface is plain, being only decorated with engraved motifs based on foliage: garlands occupy the upper area while in the base one finds shell motifs of scrolls and flowers.
Although it is a work from the end of the 18th century, with neoclassical decorative forms that emerge during this period, the inspiration in the medieval canons of the reliquary chests is still visible.