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Museo del Tesoro di San Lorenzo, Genoa, Italy

Coming in all shapes and sizes, numerous chalices and bowls over the centuries have claimed the honor of being a relic of Jesus’ Passion. Purportedly brought to Italy from Antioch by Crusaders in the early 12th century, the emerald-green Sacro Catino (or “Holy Bowl”) in the Museum of the Cathedral of San Lorenzo in Genoa was believed to be a dish used at the Last Supper; in the 13th century, hagiographer Jacobus de Voragine identified it as the Holy Grail. It was thought to be carved from a gigantic emerald until it was hauled off to Paris as loot during the Napoleonic Wars and it broke in transit, revealing its true substance: green glass. The bowl is probably of 11th-century Islamic origin.