Reliquary Casket of Saints Adrian and Natalia

This silver and oak reliquary from around 1100-1200 CE was made in northern Spain to hold sacred relics of Saint Adrian. It's shaped like a miniature tomb with a tiled roof and Romanesque columns. Adrian was a Roman military officer in charge of persecuting Christians in the early 4th century. After watching the courage of those he was tormenting, he converted to Christianity, declared his faith, and was arrested and brutally martyred through dismemberment.

The story of his martyrdom is worked in repoussé (hammered from the reverse) on the four sides of the casket: his trial, his dismemberment, and the transport of his remains to a city near Constantinople by his devoted wife, Saint Natalia. The casket's miniature church architecture reflects the medieval belief that reliquaries should house sacred remains with architectural dignity. It's now at the Art Institute of Chicago.