Small Baroque reliquary monstrance made of wood with silvered front housing inside of an oval glass-fronted compartment a Sanguine (of the Precious Blood) relic of Christ's Passion. The precious relic is affixed to a background of red silk decorated with an image of Christ surrounded by the instruments of Passion and identified on a fancy-cut manuscript cedula as De Sanguine / DNJC (From the Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ). On the back, the relic is secured with a crisscrossed silk cord held in place by four perfectly preserved seals of red Spanish wax each with an imprint of a coat of arms of Fr. Antonio Martini (†1809), Archbishop of Florence (1781-1809).
Although the Bible never mentions Christ's Blood being preserved, one of the apocryphal gospels asserts that Joseph of Arimathea preserved the Precious Blood after he had washed the dead body of Christ. A relic of the Blood of Jesus is of utmost significance, a uniquely important witness to Jesus’ Passion and a perpetual reminder of the historical character of the Christian Gospel. In Catholic belief, the Blood of Christ is precious because it is Christ's own great ransom paid for the redemption of mankind. Jesus is said to have given his life - his blood - for the sake of all humanity, atoning for every form of human sin.