The trophies of the martyrs

"In this study, Galit Noga-Banai analyses silver reliquaries decorated with Christian figurative themes. The imagery of these caskets embodies the latent wishes, social status, and theological views of their patrons, and also reflects contemporary funerary customs, church ceremonies, and the liturgical calendar. These small, portable objects created a visual culture beyond the architectural and liturgical space, and were closely involved in the establishment of the cult of relics, which was an essential asset to the Church in its founding of pilgrimage centers and local hagiographic heritage sites, first in Italy and later in other places around Europe and North Africa."--BOOK JACKET.