Chalice
ca. 1500 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A chalice was used during the Mass to serve the consecrated wine. Said to have been found in a ditch near the Tower of London in 1887, this example is the only known English copper-gilt chalice of its type. The raised letters around the knop (the bulbous swelling on the stem) spell ‘Ihesus’ and the foot is engraved with the Crucifixion.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Copper-gilt, engraved |
| Brief description | Copper-gilt, England, ca.1500 |
| Physical description | Chalice of gilded copper with a shallow bowl and a six pointed foot, a rounded toe on each point and the crucifix engraved on one of the six faces. Hexagonal stem with twisted knop pierced with Gothic tracery and each boss of the knop engraved with a letter to spell the name 'IHESVS'. An image of the crucified Christ engraved on the foot, beneath the letter 'e' on the knop. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Style | |
| Marks and inscriptions |
|
| Gallery label | English Chalice
A chalice was used during the Mass to serve the consecrated wine. Said to have been found in a ditch near the Tower of London in 1887, this example is the only known English copper-gilt chalice of its type. The raised letters around the knop (the bulbous swelling on the stem) spell ‘Ihesus’ and the foot is engraved with the Crucifixion.
England, about 1500
Copper gilt
Museum no. 945-1904(22/11/2005) |
| Object history | Said to have been dug near the Tower of London, 1887. Formerly the property of Mr Jeffrey Whitehead and sold at Christies, 17th June, 1904, lot 29. Two of the toes on the foot restored. |
| Subject depicted | |
| Summary | A chalice was used during the Mass to serve the consecrated wine. Said to have been found in a ditch near the Tower of London in 1887, this example is the only known English copper-gilt chalice of its type. The raised letters around the knop (the bulbous swelling on the stem) spell ‘Ihesus’ and the foot is engraved with the Crucifixion. |
| Bibliographic reference | Campbell, Marian. 'Found in London, made in London - London connections for some medieval metalwork in the Victoria & Albert Museum'. In: 'Hidden Histories and Records of Antiquity': Essays on Saxon and Medieval London for John Clark, Curator Emeritus, Museum of London, ed. by Jonathan Cotton, Jenny Hall, Jackie Keily, Roz Sherris and Roy Stephenson. London and Middlesex Archaeological Society Special Paper, 17. London: London and Middlesex Archaeological Society, 2014. ISBN 9780903290685. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | 945-1904 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | November 3, 2005 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
