An attractive ornate glass-fronted hallmarked silver pendant reliquary theca decorated around the opening with the Crown of Thorns, housing precious relic of the Thorn from the Crown of Thorns of Jesus Christ. The relic is displayed on the ground of red silk surrounded by the image of the Crown of Thorns. 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 Monsignor François-Marie-Benjamin Richard (†1908), Archbishop of Paris (1875-1908), France. The relic is accompanied by the original matching authentics document issued by Cardinal Richard in 1907 where the relic is described in Latin as sacram particulam Spinae Coronae D.N.J.C. (a precious part from the Thorn of the Crown of Thorns of Our Lord Jesus Christ).
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.