17th C Italian Reliquary Glass

17th C Italian Reliquary Glass

C 1650/1700

Item Ref: 432

A lovely 17th century reliquary/pharmacy jar, the braided threads on the lid would suggest that it would have originally have been tied down as is the case when jars of this type were used as reliquary vessels , the swollen funnel bowl with neck sits on a short hollow knopped stem, all on a folded conical foot , the cover has a hollow blown finial to which is attached a wax seal (as yet unidentified), the braided threads would originally have been longer to tie the lid to the jar, probably just below the bowl and above the knop to secure the revered objects contained within.

Height with cover 5 ins 12.7 cm

The lovely straw tinted metal strongly suggests Tuscany as it's origin.

A superb rare glass in perfect original condition. there are some slight losses to one edge of the wax seal.