The practice of creating reliquaries in the form of saints' heads or busts is first documented in the Massif Central of France in the ninth century. The sacred contents of these lifesize reliquaries turned their subjects into powerful presences that watched over their communities, a role underscored by the focus on the attentive and animated faces. The radiant silver, gold, and jewels that often encased such creations were appropriate given that saints' relics were themselves considered precious. Saints so honored by the medieval church were often founders of the communities that conserved their relics. Saint Yrieix was one such exemplary leader; his image was displayed and life story recounted as a role model to emulate and petition.

During the French Revolution, such precious church property was declared available for the use of the nation; a campaign to recoup the inherent monetary value of gold and silver objects quickly ensued, provoking a wave of destruction. This work, weighed and listed with others slated for the melting pot, appears to have been secreted away and thus to have escaped destruction.