Details

LOT 0340

Late Medieval Bronze Chalice

EASTERN EUROPE, 16TH-17TH CENTURY A.D.

4 3/4 in. (6 in.) (750 grams, 12 cm high (890 grams total, 15 cm high including stand)).

Formed with a U-shaped bowl, tapering cylindrical stem and domed discoid foot, the body exterior displaying clusters of vertical ribs alternating with columns of pellets; mounted on a custom-made wooden display base.

Provenance

Acquired on the UK art market.
Property of an East Sussex, UK, gentleman.

Literature

Cf. Portable Antiquities Scheme, LON-661B25, for a similar, although not identical, lead goblet.

Footnotes

The chalice is the most important liturgical object used in Christian worship, and for centuries it has been given a central place on the altar. Its form directly references the vessel used by Christ during the Last Supper when, according to the Gospel of Matthew (26:27-28) he ‘took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to [his disciples], saying: Drink ye all of it for this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.’ Since the moment of transubstantiation is believed to occur while the chalice is filled with the Communion wine, such vessels have historically been created using the richest, most precious materials available to the church and its craftsmen.