Reliquary theca with relic of Saint Luke, Apostle & Evangelist, patron of physicians & artists

An oval crystal-fronted silver pendant reliquary theca housing a precious first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relic of Saint Luke, Apostle and Evangelist​. The relic is displayed on the ground of gold silk and identified in Latin on an ornate manuscript cedula label as Ex Ossib. S. Lucae / Ap. / Evan. (of the bone of Saint Luke, Apostle and Evangelist). 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 the Archdiocese of Milan. 

St. Luke the Evangelist, a Greek physician from Antioch and likely a Gentile, was a close companion of St. Paul on his missionary journeys. He authored the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, providing the most detailed account of Jesus’ life and the early Church. Tradition holds he lived to about 84 and died peacefully in Greece. He is the patron saint of physicians, surgeons, artists, and painters. His feast day is October 18.