1783 Vatican documented reliquary with relic of the Holy Thorn from the Crown of Thorn of Jesus Christ

A glass-fronted gilt brass reliquary theca pendant housing precious relic from the Holy Thorn of the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ. The relic is displayed on a ground of silk decorated with gilt paperole and silver wire ornamentation and is identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as De Spina D.N.J.C. (of the Thorn of Our Lord Jesus Christ).  On the back, behind the protective lid, the reliquary is secured by a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint with a coat of arms of Fr. Orazio Mattei (†1792) Titular Archbishop of Colossae (1767-1792) and an important Vatican official. The relic is accompanied by the original matching authentics document issued in the Vatican in 1783 by Bishop Mattei under the authority of Pope Pius VI. 

According to the New Testament, a woven Crown of Thorns was placed on the head of Jesus during the events leading up to his crucifixion. It was one of the instruments of the Passion, employed by Jesus' captors both to cause him pain and to mock his claim of authority. It is mentioned in the gospels of Matthew (Matthew 27:29), Mark (Mark 15:17) and John (John 19:2, 19:5), and is often alluded to by the early Church Fathers, such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen and others, along with being referenced in the apocryphal Gospel of Peter. Since at least around the year 400 AD, a relic of the Crown of Thorns has been venerated. In 1238, the Latin Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople yielded the relic to French King Louis IX.