Noli me tangere Casket

The Noli me tangere Casket (Noli me tangere: Latin for "Don't touch me") was a small silver-gilt casket made in 1356 for the Aachen Cathedral Treasury. It measured 15.2 cm in length, 3.7 cm in height and 4.8 cm in width. The casket was kept in the Marienschrein together with the key relics of the cathedral until the nineteenth century and the casket remained in the possession of the cathedral treasury until its destruction during the Second World War.

Four so-called "great relics" belong to Aachen cathedral: The dress of Mary, the diaper of Jesus, the decapitation cloth of John the Baptist and the loincloth of Christ, along with other lesser relics. Since 1349, these cloths have been displayed and venerated as contact relics in Aachen every seven years during the Aachen pilgrimage. One legend says that it was during such a pilgrimage that a pilgrim was able to remove and steal a small part of each of the sacred cloths, despite the strict guard. At the death of this pilgrim a year later, he is said to have repented of his deed and returned the stolen fabric to the Aachen cathedral chapter. The canon of cathedral chapter is said to have been so embarrassed by this evidence of his negligence that, in 1356, he ordered the production of a small silver box to store the returned bits of relic in. After the casket was locked, he wrapped it in a green silk rippon, sealed it and attached a parchment, on which was written in Medieval Latin:

Anno domini M CCC LVI in festo magne dedicacionis ecclesie beate marie virginis Aquensis fuit ordinatum per capitulum dicte ecclesie ad hoc indictum quod presens sarculum cui hec scedula est appensa de cetero non apperiatur et hoc propter specialem statum et utilitatem ecclesie antedicte.

...
Wikipedia