Ancient relic holder Caracalla mecca

Relic holder statue – Italy – 1700s – Mecca technique – Depicting Caracalla.

Small statue, interesting antiquity from an aesthetic point of view, but for collectors for three curiosities:

1. The technique used is that of "mecca" which, in a nutshell, is gold leaf plus silver. Very rare;
2. The character represented is the Roman Emperor named Lucius Septimius Bassianus, known as Caracalla due to the Gallic cloak he used to wear. Very difficult to see this emperor depicted;
3. The use it was like a relic holder. You will notice a heart-shaped compartment in the center, a hollow in the carved and then meshed wood: there was once a relic there, now lost. And this, dear friends, is truly a tasty rarity.

Entirely made of carved and then meccated wood, Italian, good size and fair condition, mid-1700s.

Very rare.