Antique French meerschaum frame reliquary religious devotion Napoleon III dating XIX century. This is a plaster relief depicting Madonna and Child statue with Saints praying on each side, an object wrapped in a small glass dome from the 19th century. From the late 1800’S, Napoleon III era. The carved part is made of meerschaum stone (seafoam), framed into ebony frame under convex glass. This piece of religious art is obtained by immersion of a matrix, for a period of more than a year, in the petrifying fountains of Saint Nectaire which deposit a thin layer of calcium carbonate (calcite & silica). The details are of great finesse. Sizing 12.5cm widex14.5cm in height.