The Brescia Casket, also called the lipsanotheca of Brescia (in Italian lipsanoteca[1]) or reliquary of Brescia, is an ivory box, perhaps a reliquary,[2] from the late 4th century, which is now in the Museo di Santa Giulia at San Salvatore in Brescia, Italy. It is a virtually unique survival of a complete Early Christian ivory box in generally good condition. The 36 subjects depicted on the box represent a wide range of the images found in the evolving Christian art of the period,[3] and their identification has generated a great deal of art-historical discussion, though the high quality of the carving has never been in question. According to one scholar: "despite an abundance of resourceful and often astute exegesis, its date, use, provenance, and meaning remain among the most formidable and enduring enigmas in the study of early Christian art."[4]
The complex iconography of the five faces is illustrated and identified below.
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