A fine micromosaic plaque of Saint Philomena Rome, circa 1860

set within a copper backplate

In very good original condition.
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During the 19th century, Sainte Philomene, or Saint Philomena became very popular particularly in Italy and France due to the supposed healing powers of her relics.  She was popularized by the miraculous healing of Pauline Jaricot, founder of the Association for the Propagation of the Faith, and by Saint John Vianney, the Curé d'Ars, who built a shrine in her honor.

Her remains were discovered in 1802, during the search for martyrs in the Catacombs of Priscilla in Rome.  A vile of dried blood was found in the tomb with the remains, as well as Roman tiles decorated with arrows, anchors, palm leaves, ivy leaves and various other Christian symbols, and was inscribed lumena/paxte/cumfi , which was emended to pax tecum filumena (Peace be with you, Philomena).  Her remains were moved to the church of Mungano in the Diocese of Nola, near Naples, and enshrined by the canon under the altar.  In 1827 Leo XII presented the church with the three earthenware tiles.

In 1837, Sister Maria Luisa of Naples claimed that Philomena had visited her in a vision and told her the story of her martyrdom.  She claimed that Philomena was a princess of a Greek King, who had converted to Christianity, and had taken a vow of consecrated virginity when she was thirteen.  She accompanied her father and mother on a visit to the Emperor Diocletian who fell in love with her and wished to marry her.  When she refuse his proposal of marriage, Diocletian tried to have her put to death.  He first tried to drown her by tying her to an anchor, but she was saved by angels.  He then had his soldiers shoot her with arrows three times, which either only wounded her or were deflected.  Ultimately, he had her decapitated.  The attributes of her story and martyrdom, namely the bow and arrow, anchor and axe are present in this work.  Other attributes, which are present, include the lily, alluding to her virginity, and a sword and palm branch, alluding to her position as a martyr.  She stands on an earthly crown alluding to her royal birth and is crowned by angels with a saintly crown.

Pope Gregory XVI authorized a special feast of Philomena firstly on September 9, 1837, 'in honorem s. Philumenae virginis et martyris', moving it to the 11 August first in the Diocese of Nola and soon in several other dioceses in Italy.  By 1920 Philomena was mentioned in the typical edition of the Roman Missal for August 11 indicating that the Mass for her was to be taken entirely from the common in the section headed 'Masses for some places'.