Gilded silver, English (London), 1527-8; maker's mark a Tau cross with three pellets, unidentified.

Silver parcel gilt. The six lobed foot of the chalice is engraved with the Crucifixion, between two flowers, the knop embosed with heads of angels. The paten has a sexfoil depression with the vernicle or face of Christ engraved in the middle. The Paten is crudely engraved with the vernicle on a matted ground. (The vernicle is the image of Christ's face which, according to legend, became miraculously imprinted on the cloth used by Veronica to wipe his sweat when he fell under the weight of the cross on his way to Calvary.)

Said to have come from a church in Eyrarbakki, South Iceland. Purchased by the Museum from a Copenhagen dealer, S. Verdier, for £65 in 1903.

Medieval Worship

Until the 16th century Roman Catholicism was the universal faith of the Western world and Latin was its universal language. The needs of church ritual inspired the production of a range of richly decorated vessels and vestments, crosses and images in the form of altarpieces. Many were made of gold or silver, adorned with enamels or gems, precious materials seen as symbolic of the reverence due to the worship of God. Less wealthy churches used cheaper vessels in copper, brass or pewter.

The celebration of Mass was and remains the most important service of the Roman Catholic liturgy. For this the minimum requirements are an altar, a chalice and missal, the book of texts necessary for the Mass. Holy Communion or Eucharist is that part of the Mass in which the people participate in the sacrifice of Christ, by partaking of his body and blood in the consecrated bread and wine, held in the chalice and paten.

A chalice and paten were used during the Mass to serve the consecrated wine and bread. Before the Reformation, English chalices were often decorated with the Crucifixion. A common subject for the paten was the ‘vernicle’, the image of Christ that was miraculously left when he wiped his face on a cloth held by St Veronica.

1565&A-1903