Rare reliquary theca with Passion relic of the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ

An oval crystal-fronted silver pendant reliquary theca housing rarely seen precious relic from the Thorn from the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ. The relic is displayed on the ground of bi-color silk surrounded by gilt paperolle ornamentation and identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as De Spina Coron. D.N.J.C. (Holy Thorn from the Crown of Thorns of Our Lord Jesus Christ). On the back, the reliquary is secured by a perfectly preserved seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint with a coat of arms of an unidentified Roman Catholic Bishop. 

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.