ca. 1880 French reliquary monstrance with relic of the Veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Large French Gothic-style gilt-bronze monstrance reliquary dating to 1880's housing in the central glass-fronted cavity holy relic of the Veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary. The relic is affixed to a red velvet ground decorated with intricate gilt paperole ornamentation and identified in French on a manuscript cedula label as Voile B.M.V. ([of] the Veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary). On the back, under a metal protective cap, the theca is secured with a perfectly preserved seal of red Spanish wax with a clear imprint of a coat of arms of Fr. Pierre-Alfred Grimardias (†1896), Bishop of Cahors, France (1863-1893). 

According to tradition, the Veil of the Blessed Virgin Mary was worn by the Virgin as she stood at the foot of the Cross. It had been transferred in the early years of Christianity from Jerusalem to Constantinople when it was presented by the Byzantine Empress Irene to the Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne. In 876 his descendant Charles the Bald gave the relic to the cathedral at Chartres. The Veil is kept in a golden reliquary beside the high altar and has formed the focus of many traditions throughout the centuries. It was believed to have protected the faithful down through the centuries from many dangers and evils, including famine and war, outbreaks of the plague, and the worst ravishes of the French Revolution. The veil itself is more than six meters long and made of silk. Scientific studies have shown that it is of Syrian design, of fine quality, and can be traced to the first century. Every year on 15th August, the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady, the Veil is processed through the town of Chartres.