Beautiful antique French niche or reliquary shrine. This could possibly have been a case for one of the stations of the cross but I am not sure. It is a rather large piece measuring 20 inches tall, 16 inches wide and about 5 inches deep. It is a lovely wood "relic type" case in with marbled red paper lining. The back does come off but there is a single nail in the center for hanging something so I did not completely remove the back as the nail would have to come off.
It is in excellent state of conservation with most of it's original parts. There are a few decorative pieces missing that have fallen off and were not with the cabinet. There is no glass on the front and if there were it is gone but again, I don't know if it had glass. However, from what I can see this could be resolved by removing the nail and sliding the back up and adding glass.
We currently have the piece sitting with a wedge under it in the back. There is a fairly large metal loop anchored at the top so it was originally meant to hang. I prefer it sitting but it can sit or hang.
I am unaware of origin of the piece other than to say it had to come from a church or shrine and we purchased it in Chamalières, France. We estimate it is from the late 1800's to early 1900's which is what we are guessing.
Truly a remarkable find and a stunning piece.
