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two oval silver pendants with a picture of a man and a womana silver locke with a picture of a cat on itan image of a silver locke with a picture of a woman in a dressa close up of a silver locke with writing on itan image of a locke with a piece of paper in it and a piece of paper in it
Flanders Auctions

572 - A Silver reliquary holder with a relic of the Holy House of …

Estimate €600 - €800
Sale commission
Description
A Silver reliquary holder with a relic of the Holy House of Mary, Domus Nazarethana Laureti. Johannes Moretus, Antwerp. Dated 1698. Silver reliquary holder or reliquary pendant. With an image of the Holy House, carried by angels, and the Virgin Mary with the Child Jesus. Inside the drawing, with two relics of the House of Loreto. On the reverse side, an inscription with attestation and context. 'Particulae S. Domus Nazarethana Laureti - Brasae anno 1697 a peregrino excommuniacationis annexae sine culpa inscio postea De Consensu Emin Cardinalis Palutii De Alteriis eiusdem almae domus protectoris en belgium delatae a r. P. Ioanne Moreto. S.J. Laureti panitentiar apostolico anno 1698.' Translated: 'Parts of the Holy House of Nazareth at Laureti-Brasae, added in 1697 by an excommunicated pilgrim without guilt and then, with the permission of Cardinal Palutii de Alteriis of the same House of Mercy, patron, brought to the Netherlands by the Father Johannes Moreto, apostolic chaplain at Laureti in 1698.' Joannes Jacobus Moretus was a son of Balthasar II Moretus and Anna Goos, and lived from 1647 to 1718. He became a Jesuit novice in 1668 and travelled via Munich to Loreto in August 1692. Apparently, an unknown pilgrim had collected remains of the Holy House in Loreto in 1697 to take home as a relic. He was presumably caught. The penalty for this ecclesiastical crime was excommunication. The pilgrim is said to have received a dispensation because he was unaware that it was a crime. Joannes Moretus had worked for a time as Apostolic Penitentiary during his stay in Loreto. In this position, appointed directly by the Pope, Moretus was authorised to forgive grave sins and lift ecclesiastical punishments, including excommunication. In the seventeenth century, Loreto was an important pilgrimage site with great international appeal. Pilgrims from all over Europe travelled to Loreto to do penance for the grave sins they had committed in their home countries. The Jesuit Joannes Moretus apparently worked as a confessor in Loreto to hear the pilgrims' confessions in their native languages. When he returned home in 1698, the inscription says he received permission from the Keeper of the Holy House, Cardinal Palutius de Alteriis, to take the illegally obtained relics home with him. Late Baroque, 17th century. U koopt het theca en/of document, de relikwieën zijn een gift. You are purchasing the reliquary and/or document, the relics are a gift. (5 x 7 x 0 cm)
About the sale ‘Sacred Arts and Antiques, Devotional objects and Relics’
Auction location
Auction time 10/08/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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