Reliquary theca with relic of Saint Matthew, Apostle & Evangelist

An oval crystal-fronted silver pendant reliquary theca housing a precious first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relic of Saint Matthew the Apostle​. The relic is displayed on the ground of gold silk and identified in Latin on an ornate manuscript cedula label as Ex Ossibus /S. Mathiae / Apost. (from the bone of Saint Matthew, Apostle). 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. 

Saint Matthew, also known as Levi, was a tax collector in Capernaum before Jesus called him to become one of the Twelve Apostles. Traditionally the author of the first Gospel, he preached in Judea, Ethiopia, and Persia. Martyred in the 1st century, he is the patron saint of tax collectors, accountants, bankers, bookkeepers, and civil servants. His feast day is September 21