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The article aims to show how a transdisciplinary approach can contribute to a better understanding of the composite biography of a precious object. The study focuses on the Cintola del Duomo (Museum of the Opera del Duomo, Pisa), one of the most famous objects in the history of goldsmithing, both for its exceptional manufacturing quality and for its devotional value. For a long time, the Cintola was considered a fragment of a long garland – decorated with precious stones, enamel, and silver plates – that was displayed on the façade of the Cathedral on certain days of the liturgical calendar. Detailed historical studies suggested that the garland was lost in the early 1300s, while the object now in the museum is more likely to be a reconstruction, decorated with ancient and modern gems. In situ diagnostic campaigns were carried out on the garland using portable Raman spectroscopy (i-Raman, B&W Tek) and portable X-Ray fluorescnece (XRF) (Elio, Bruker) to reveal the identity of the gems and enamels preliminarily studied by gemmological analysis. The combination of analytical techniques made it possible to better outline the complex history of the artefacts. The analysis provided information on the identity of the gems, proposing an interesting question about their possible relationship with the crown of Henry VII of Luxembourg (in the same museum). The study includes aspects related to the materiality of the objects, revealing the socio-cultural context in which the object was produced and supporting its recontextualisation in the museum as a symbolic representation of the past.

• New insight on the journey of "Byzantine gems" from the East to the West of the Empire. • The gems of the relic of St. John the Baptist and its reliquary are analyzed for the first time. • The presence of a rare and exquisite example of Balas ruby was identified in the relic. • The investigation improves knowledge on ancient gems traveling across Europe. Gems, especially from remote areas, were highly demanded and valued in Byzantine times, often used for sacred Imperial purposes. Because of their imperishable nature, they were often re-used over time and many of them passed, one way or another, from East to Western Europe. The history of the gems set in Byzantine relics that survived in medieval Europe is often impossible to reconstruct. The exceptional opening of the relics of St. John the Baptist in Siena, 200 years after the last inspection, has made it possible to study the magnificent gems that adorn it. Spinels, rubies, sapphires and other gems from oriental geographies, along with high quality glasses used together regardless of their monetary value, were identified in the relic and its reliquary case through gemological analysis and portable Raman spectroscopy, once again demonstrating the vital contribution of the trans-disciplinary approach in the study of ancient art goldworkings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]