Silver bowl with copper repoussé stem

Chalice with a copper repoussé stem and a silver gilt bowl. Sexfoil base in a hexagon decorated with vases and foliation. Three of the lobes have niello roundels showing the Pieta, the Virgin and Child and a coat of arms. Below the knop is a niello inscription. The knop has six projecting medallions with niello roundels. These depict the Arma Christi.

Purchase

The coat of arms upon this chalice is unidentified, but does not appear to be those of the Marchesi family.

Historical significance: This chalice shows the part that local people played in the augmentation of a church treasury. The inscription shows that the object was commissioned and given by a cleric and citizen of the town of Faenza, Nicholas Marchesi. Local people would have donated gifts to the treasury as signs of their faith and as way of ensuring remembrance after their deaths. They may also have wished to improve the status and authority of their local parish.

Faenza held the relics of St Peter Damian, an eleventh century bishop. These relics would have encouraged pigrims to visit the area and may have increased donations to the cathedral treasury.

This chalice is made form copper, a material more affordable that silver and gold. Less costly metals were often used in the construction of chalices, however gold or silver-gilt was always used for the bowl of the cup. This had a symbolic meaning, as the bowl was to hold the blood of Christ but also a hygienic purpose, as base metals could contaminate the wine.

Medieval Treasuries

Churches and Cathedrals owned collections of valuable objects called Treasuries. Medieval Treasuries contained two types of object; functional items used during the liturgy such as chalices and symbolic items to be revered and admired, namely reliquaries. These objects were made from rich materials such as gold, silver, enamel and gems. Such materials were considered to be the best way to honour God. The development of a treasury relied upon gifts. People donated precious objects as a sign of their wealth and status and to ensure remembrance after death. Some churchmen also sought to obtain treasures for their Church stores. Abbot Suger for example worked hard to improve the treasury at St Denis.

Treasuries signified the wealth and power of their Church. Important relics attracted pilgrims, bringing wealth and status to the area. Many church treasures were kept on public display and used in public processions and festivals, which encouraged a sense of community. Other treasuries however were more closely guarded. The Basel Cathedral Treasury was kept locked in cabinets in the sacristy, only to be used on special feast days. This exclusivity only served to increase the objects’ status as important and sacred objects.

A chalice was used during the mass to hold the consecrated wine. Chalices were usually made from gold or silver, although less wealthy churches owned chalices of base metal. The bowl however was always made of precious metal because it would hold the sanctified wine, which Christian believe is transformed into the blood of Christ during the Mass.

Churches and Cathedrals owned collections of valuable objects which were stored in Treasuries. These objects, used during the liturgy, were made from rich materials such as gold, silver, enamel and gems. Local churchmen and lay people donated precious objects as a sign of their wealth and status and to ensure remembrance after death. The inscription on this chalice shows that it was given by Nicholai Marchesi, a canon and citizen of Faenza.

3237-1856