Art imitates architecture: the Saint Philip reliquary in Renaissance Florence

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To this list of reliquaries that reflect the places in which they were kept. I would like to add Maso di Bartolomeo's 1446 reliquary for the Sacro Cingolo, the belt or girdle of the Virgin Mary, in Prato (Fig. 14). (65) Although it is not an architectural reliquary and does not resemble Prato Cathedral, in which it was housed, this small reliquary casket was designed to complement Donatello and Michelozzo's exterior pulpit (1428-38) on the corner of Prato Cathedral's facade (Fig. 15). (66) The dancing putti that decorate the sides of this exquisite cassetta are direct copies of those framed by Corinthian pilasters on the pulpit. Thus, when the reliquary was exhibited from the outdoor pulpit on feast days sacred to the Virgin Mary, a strong visual bond between the reliquary and the church in which it was kept could be discerned. Similarly, thse design of the Saint Philip reliquary was directly linked to the way in which it was displayed publicly, but it differs from all of the reliquaries described above in that it was made not in the image of the baptistery to which it belonged but, rather, in that of the Florentine Cathedral. Indeed, of all the reliquaries from S. Maria del Fiore and S. Giovanni, the Saint Philip reliquary stands out as the only one whose design, in all likelihood for ritual purposes and to underscore the importance of the relic for the city, complements the urban and ecclesiastical context in which it was displayed.

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The Civic and Devotional Stage: The Display of the Saint Philip Reliquary

We have seen that the ostensorium made for Saint Philip's arm marked quite a departure from the enameled silver casket that held the arm relic until 1425. Why, then, did its patron, the Opera of S. Giovanni, or its maker, Antonio del Vagliente, choose this kind of reliquary over a more traditional arm-shaped reliquary? It certainly was not because body-part reliquaries had become unfashionable, for they continued to be produced throughout Europe in spite of an increase in the number of relic ostensoria to be found in church treasuries. Instead, it is probable that its form was determined by the importance of Saint Philip and his arm within the context of the Florentine cult of saints and relics and the way in which it was displayed both inside and outside S. Giovanni. The Saint Philip reliquary's stylistic and symbolic relation with Florence Cathedral singles it out as a portable reliquary with particular relevance for the city of Florence, but the inherent symbolism of its form was revealed only on those occasions when it was brought forth from the baptistery altar.

Arm relics offered possibilities for public display that most other body-part relics, with the exception of head relics, did not. Arms, hands, and heads are the most communicative parts of the human body, and during their ritual display, arm relics were regularly lifted above the faithful in order to bless and, sometimes, to heal them. (67) Arm-shaped reliquaries, regardless of whether or not they actually contained arm relics, were especially effective in carrying out these ritual blessings, but they could also successfully be carried out with reliquary caskets, like the one that originally housed the arm of Saint Philip, that concealed, rather than revealed, the type of sacred body part they held. (68)