What is this?
This statue is a reliquary -- a piece of art that holds a relic. The figure of a priest holds a small glass tube, within which is a fragment of an arm bone supposedly from the Christian saint Macarius of Egypt.Christian relics are the remains of holy people or holy objects, most commonly the body parts of saints or objects that belonged to Jesus, such as the crown of thorns. Objects such as the crown of thorns or Mary's shroud are seen as inherently holy because of their direct connection to foundational figures of Christianity.
In early Christian history, relics were a way to celebrate the sacrifices martyrs made for their faith. After Christianity was legalized, relics were also derived from saints and other holy people who were not killed as martyrs. Against theological doctrine, some zealous believers thought that the bodies of the saints held their holiness even after death, leading to body part veneration. Bodies were moved from simple graves to special tombs or churches so pilgrims could more easily access particular saints' relics. Water, oil, or fabric were also brought into contact with relics to make "secondary" relics, like the liquid that filled this pilgrim's ampulla, also from Egypt. Sometimes saints' bodies were stolen and used to legitimize churches and leaders.
In 1204, crusaders sacked Constantinople, the capital of the Orthodox Christian Byzantine empire. Constantinople housed many hundreds of Christian relics in exquisitely made reliquaries. The crusader takeover destabilized the Byzantine empire and enabled the foundation of a crusader empire, known as the Latin Empire, based in Constantinople. As the empire's revenue declined precipitously, crusader emperors were driven to sell their massive stash of relics to try to keep the government afloat. The rare and impressive Byzantine collection of relics was dispersed throughout Europe, giving relics increased presence and value as symbols of religious legitimacy for individuals as well as institutions.