The relics of the saints have always represented in the course of history a fundamental role for faith and devotion; the wide diffusion of the cult of the Virgin, of the apostles and of the saints developed over the centuries, both at the level of local churches and of private devotion, also produced a collateral phenomenon, almost "collecting", especially by authoritative lay and ecclesiastical exponents . The need for a safe preservation of the relics and the need to leave them visible to the public worship of the faithful made it necessary to provide special containers which, in many cases, became authentic goldsmith masterpieces. This urn reliquary, in ebony, cut crystals, decorated