The Morthouse

Syrian bishop’s remains (funeral). Corpse seated in church. Matson Photo Service, [between 1940 and 1946]. Source: Library of Congress.

Rhenish crystal reliquary, ca. 1200, featured in the (totally awesome!) Treasures of Heaven online exhibit. From Martina Bagnoli’s article on the site:

This barrel-shaped reliquary consists of a large, cylindrical piece of crystal bored down the middle to create a narrow compartment for a relic. According to medieval lapidaries, rock crystal was a symbol of spiritual purity. Hence the mineral was frequently used to adorn saints’ reliquaries from the early Middle Ages onward. In the Walters’ reliquary, however, rock crystal is not merely decorative but is used as a chamber. In this way, the relic is revealed for veneration rather than hidden from view as in earlier reliquaries. The rock crystal chamber magnified the relics contained inside, establishing the real presence of the saint. The emergence of this new type of transparent reliquary is to be linked with a renewed interest in visibility during the early Gothic period. Transparent reliquaries satisfied the believers’ desire to see the relics without having to handle them.

Crowned and Jeweled Skull Relic by Curious Expeditions on Flickr.

This skull resides at the Franziskanerkirche in Salzburg, Austria, and is said to be that of Saint Eutyches. From the Curious Expeditions blog:

Though this skull is likely only a namesake, the original Eutyches was a Byzantine monk who was made an infamous heretic when he suggested that Christ was a sort of human-divine chimera. Though only a slight distinction from saying Christ was both fully human and fully divine, he was nonetheless cast out from the church and died in exile. […]

It rests on a gold embroidered pillow, surrounded by piles jewels and gold, but the most captivating detail of this magnificent skull are the brooch eyes. Settled into the eye sockets are two red jewels, mounted in flourishing silver settings. Finally it is adorned with a crown that reaches around the sides of it, like golden sideburns, meeting over the mouth of the skull in a grand jeweled mustache.