Ciborium
1715-1716 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
During the Catholic Mass, the wine is held in a chalice and the bread is contained in a ciborium. This ciborium was made for this purpose. The belief that bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ when consecrated during Mass was reaffirmed in the 16th century. It was a central decree issued by the Council of Trent which set out to confirm and strengthen the doctrines of the Catholic Church. This led to the increased production of exquisite vessels for Catholic worship. The ciborium cover is also fitted with a half ecu, a coin from the reign of King Louis XIV of France (r. 1643-1715), then a common practice to embellish silver works of art in northern Europe.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | chased and cast gilded silver |
| Brief description | Ciborium and cover with panels depicting saints. Silver-gilt. Antwerp. Josephus I Hennekin, 1715-16. |
| Physical description | Siver-gilt ciborium and cover, the bowl of the ciborium with four oval cartouches with reliefs of saints, whose legends are associated with the Eucharist. St Hyacinth, a 13th-century Dominican monk, rescued a monstrance containing the consecrated host, as well as a statue of the Virgin, during an attack on his monastery in Kyiv (Kiev). The cover surmounted by a crown held by four figural cherubim and fitted with a finial in the shape of a pelican piercing her breast to feed her blood to her young, a symbol for the Passion of Christ. A Louis XIV half ecu fitted to base of stem. |
| Dimensions |
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| Marks and inscriptions | Initials of maker and date 1715 (Rim of foot) |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | The Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection on loan to the Victoria and Albert Museum, London |
| Object history | Provenance: Partridge London, 1996, cat. no. 6, p. 12; on loan to Portland Art Museum, 1996-1997 Josephus I Hennekin was a member of a dynasty of Antwerp goldsmiths that was active over three generations from the late 16th century. He worked in Paris in 1667 and even in 1673-74 is recorded as officially employed by his mother, Catharina Staels. Married twice, Josephus I Hennekin had two sons. His elder son Michiel Hennekin (born 1683) was to be his successor and as such was apprenticed to the Antwerp sculptor Joannes Claudius de Cock, but decided to become a Catholic priest instead. In 1720 his younger son, Josephus II Hennekin (1689-1758), became a master silversmith, and eventually succeeded Josephus I Hennekin as head of the family workshop. |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | During the Catholic Mass, the wine is held in a chalice and the bread is contained in a ciborium. This ciborium was made for this purpose. The belief that bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ when consecrated during Mass was reaffirmed in the 16th century. It was a central decree issued by the Council of Trent which set out to confirm and strengthen the doctrines of the Catholic Church. This led to the increased production of exquisite vessels for Catholic worship. The ciborium cover is also fitted with a half ecu, a coin from the reign of King Louis XIV of France (r. 1643-1715), then a common practice to embellish silver works of art in northern Europe. Sir Arthur Gilbert and his wife Rosalinde formed one of the world's great decorative art collections, including silver, mosaics, enamelled portrait miniatures and gold boxes. Arthur Gilbert donated his extraordinary collection to Britain in 1996. |
| Bibliographic reference | Minter, Alice et al. Masterpieces in Miniature: Treasures from the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Collection. London: V&A Publishing, 2021, p.24, cat. 6
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| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:GILBERT.98:1-2008 |
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| Record created | June 26, 2008 |
| Record URL |
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