18th century quilled paper relic, with hardstone specimen inclusion and inscribed Angus Dei (Lamb of God). While paper rolling/ quilling/ filigree work was practised by ladies in the 18th and early 19th centuries, it also had deep monastic roots. Nuns and monks picked up the art of quilling to decorate book covers and sacred objects, using gilded paper strips to imitate precious metals. The term quilling is said to derive from the fact nuns and monks used feather quills as their tool to roll the paper. This example is probably monastic made.
