sacred artifacts
Venerated religious items
Sacred artifacts are objects believed to hold religious, spiritual, or ceremonial significance, often because of their association with holy figures, divine events, or ritual use.
These items—relics, vessels, garments, texts—are typically treated with reverence and may be subject to special handling, display, or access restrictions.
The museum's collection includes sacred artifacts from Indigenous peoples.
The term can extend metaphorically to secular objects treated with unusual veneration: For true fans, those original recordings are sacred artifacts.
- holy grailSupremely elusive objective
- Torah scrollHandwritten biblical parchment roll
- chaliceOrnate ritual drinking vessel
- communion cupLiturgical drinking vessel
- holy waterSacramental liquid for blessings
reliquary · statue · totem pole · ritual mask · incense burner · icon · rosary · Ark of the Covenant · icon painting · ceremonial headdress · saints' relics · prayer beads · vessel · prayer wheel · votive candle · candle · monstrance · shroud
- relicsholy relics, bone, saints' relics, skull, tooth
sacred artifactseveryday objects
Ordinary things encountered routinely
common goods · household items · consumer goods · consumer products · bric-a-brac