Silver reliquary of One of the Innumerable Martyrs, Saint Alexander and Saint Gavinus the Presbyter.

Silver reliquary of One of the Innumerable Martyrs, Saint Alexander and Saint Gavinus the Presbyter. Aragon. Early 18th century. 39 x 30.5 x 5.5cm. This delicate metalworked piece is made of wood covered in silver.  In the form of a small altar, it has a niche in the central body, covered with glass, which houses the relics of various duly identified saints; Saint Alexander, Saint Gavinus the Presbyter and One of the Innumerable Martyrs, placed on a silk background with decoration embroidered in silver thread. The aedicule where the relics are housed is framed by complex decoration. Two pilasters supporting an entablature rest on a stylobate-like base. The niche closes at the top with a Heraldic arch. On the top of the entablature is a scallop shell. The chiselled decoration shows a wide range of plant motifs, plump leaves, scrollwork, diamond tips, angel heads and coloured crystals. The profuse Baroque decoration dates the reliquary to the first decades of the 18th century. Legend tells that the current church of Santa Engracia de Zaragoza was built on the remains of the old catacombs where the remains of the innumerable martyrs of the persecution decreed by Diocletian were kept. This church was part of a spectacular Renaissance complex known as the Monastery of the Holy Masses, which was destroyed during the Peninsular War .