Reliquary theca with first-class relic of St. Helena, Empress & Mother of St. Constantine

An oval glass-fronted silvered brass pendant reliquary theca housing the first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relics of Saint Helena, Empress. The relics are displayed on the ground of silk and identified in Latin on a manuscript cedula label as S. Helenae Imp. (Saint Helena, Empress).  On the back, under a protective cap, the reliquary is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint with a coat of arms of unidentified Roman Catholic Archbishop.

Saint Helena (†c. 330), was the consort of the future Roman Emperor Constantius Chlorus (r. 293–306) and the mother of the future Emperor Constantine the Great (r. 306–337). She ranks as an important figure in the history of Christianity and of the world due to her major influence on her son. In her final years, she made a religious tour of Syria Palaestina and Jerusalem, during which she allegedly discovered the True Cross. Pious beliefs also associate her to the foundation of the Vatican Gardens. The Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Communion revere her as a saint. Her Feast is celebrated on August 18th and she is considered a holy patron of archaeologists, converts, difficult marriages, divorced people, empresses, Saint Helena island, and new discoveries.