Incisore della metà del IV secolo d.C. Reliquary Casket of Saint Nazarius

This is the precious container that would have been used by Ambrose in 386 to transport the relics of the apostles from Rome to Milan for the consecration of the Apostolorum basilica, the early Christian basilica of the Holy Apostles and Nazaro Maggiore, from which the work comes: found in 1578 by Carlo Borromeo under the high altar, then hidden again, the chapel was definitively found in 1894. The complexity of the compositions, the naturalistic relief of classical tradition, completed by a skilful use of gilding, of which traces remain, and the comparisons with other silvers of high artistic value have allowed the work to be dated to the mid-4th century. A.D. The iconographic reading of the subjects depicted lends itself to different interpretations. The same compositional scheme is repeated on almost all sides, with a central seated figure flanked by the other standing characters, which recalls the depiction of the emperor surrounded by his court.