Reliquary chest with the relics of Saint Vincent Martyr

India, Gujarat

16th century

Wood, mother-of-pearl, silver, velvet

48 x 65 x 42 cm

This chest holds the relics of Saint Vincent, deacon and martyr, main patron of the Patriarchate of Lisbon. Together with a smaller silver chest, which holds the right hand of the saint, it is one of the most precious items on display in the Cathedral’s Treasure, from a symbolic as well as religious point of view. The chest had originally a different purpose: the relics were only laid in it after the 1755 earthquake, when the burnt bones of saint were found and put toget See more