REPORT OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY. 97 



in diameter. The latter is sunk in tlio center, the depression liavin^^ twelve foli- 

 atious around the edge, and witliin it is engrav<Ml the erucitixion with the Virgin and 

 St. John, the whole inclosed within astitt floral Ixtrder. The chalice has a plain 

 bowl, widening rapidly upward (and in this it differs conspicuously from Spanish 

 chalices of later date), the knob is ornamented with the evangelistic symbols in 

 repousse, and the stem is ((uite plain except for two bands of (luarterfoil tracery. 

 The base is in design much like that of the Dolgelly chalice, viz, it has three con- 

 centric bands of dat lobes or scallops in slight relief, upon which are engraved 

 figures of angels, and the edge is molded in twelve foliations supported upon a 

 slight tracery of quarterfoils, and in each foliation is a ligure of an apostle. This 

 chalice is as early in date as any in the exhibition, and its large size renders it the 

 nu)st reuiarkaltle. It is stated in the catalogue that it was probably u.sed on Holy 

 Thursday, when two hosts are consecrated, one being reserved till Good Friday, 

 when it is consumed by the priest. This second host is usually kept in a chalice of 

 large size and ancient work. 



"Another chalice and paten of much the same date is sent from the Cathedral of 

 Santiago, and possesses additional interest from the decoration of the kuoj) being in 

 niello. The paten is of similar design to that from Toledo, but the central subject 

 represents Our Lord seated withiu an engraved qnaterfoil. the engraved design 

 being all withiu a depression of eight foliations. The bowl of the chalice is again 

 of the shallow form, and the stem is slender and somewhat longer than is found in 

 English and other northern chalices. The knop has circular medallions with 

 nielloed scrolls, but without any sacred emblems. The base is plain, with the excep- 

 tion of a narrow engraved border of stilF scroll work, and on one side is engraved 

 a group of the Virgin and Child seated, with a female figure kneeling in adoration 

 at the side. The presence of this group is the only instance in the exhibition of 

 the practice so conmion in English chalices, of jdacing a cross or other sacred sym- 

 bol upon the side of the chalice to be held next the priest during the celebration of 

 mass. The catalogue attributes this chalice and paten to the twelfth century, but 

 it should, I think, be placed somewhat later, i. e., in the early thirteenth century. 



"Of later chalices there are a great number, dating from the early sixteenth cen- 

 tury to the middle of the seventeenth, a period which would include by far the 

 greatest proportion of all the church plate exhibited. It will be sufficient to notice 

 three of the sixteenth century as being fine examples of their kind, and at the same 

 time characteristic of the style peculiar to the period. 



"The first, from the Cathedral of Seville (No. 49), is remarkable in having a cover 

 which fits closely into the bowl and h:s a central socket, into which the foot of some 

 object has been placed, perhaps a short cross. The bowl is deep and has round the 

 base outside a row of pear shaped settings containing knot-work medallions of cloi- 

 sonne enamel, the patterns being an inheritance from the Moorish artists, and their 

 prototypes are seen in perfection upon the sword of Boabdil. belonging to the 

 Marques de Viane. The stem, knop, and foot are Gothic in design, the* tracery 

 being fairly pure in style; but the foot is ornamented with embossed designs of tlie 

 rich, floriated style, common in Spanish and Portugese objects of the Renaissance. 

 This mixture of Gothic and Renaissance motives is, in fact, the remarkable charac- 

 teristic of the church plate of the peninsula in the sixteenth century, and the i'xhi- 

 bition furnishes numberless examples of it. This chalice has u].on the foot the .arms 

 of an archbishop in enamel. 



"The second chalice, of about the .same date, from the Cathedral of Valencia (No. 

 50) is of a somewhat difierent design, and in many details recalls the drawings of 

 cups by Holbein, thongli here again the border at the foot is of Gothic tracery. But 

 for an unfortunate heavinessof the base this vcs.sel would be of very gracefuldesign. 

 It is singularly .secular in its details, which are chiefly composed of festoous'^of 

 fiowers, and fruit, and cherubs, and upon the knop tiny cupids riding dolphins. The 

 only indications of its sacred character, apart from its shape, are six circular medal- 

 H. Mis. 184, pt. 2 7 



