Reliquary theca with relics of St. Apollonia, Martyr, Patron of Dentists and tooth problems

Oval crystal-fronted silver pendant reliquary theca housing the first-class ex ossibus (of the bone) relic of Saint Apollonia.  A relic is affixed to a ground of silk, surrounded by gilt paperolle silver wire ornamentation and identified in Latin on a fancy manuscript cedula label as S. Apolloniia. V et M. (Saint Apollonia, Virgin & Martyr). On the back, the theca is secured with a seal of red Spanish wax bearing an imprint of a coat of arms of Fr. Giuseppe Maria Martelli (†1741) Archbishop of Florence, Italy (1722-1740).

Saint Apollonia of Alexandria (†249) was one of a group of virgin martyrs who suffered in Alexandria during a local uprising against the Christians prior to the persecution of Decius. According to church tradition, her torture included having all of her teeth violently pulled out or shattered. For this reason, she is popularly regarded as the patroness of dentistry and those suffering from toothache or other dental problems. She is venerated in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Oriental Orthodoxy, and her feast day is celebrated on February 9.