98 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. 



lions let into tliefoot, which art- engraved wi>th the Crucilixiou and other designs of 

 the same character. These have once been enameled, but the enamel has now 

 entirely disappeared, owing to the vessel having been ])assed through the tire to 

 freshen the metal, a jiractice which seems to have been common in Spain, as a large 

 proportion of the enameled details on church ornaments of all kinds are now bare 

 metal, owing to this somewhat barbarous practice. The third chalice, from the 

 church of Osuna, has, perhaps, a more peculiar feature than either of the others, in 

 having the bowl and kuoj> surrounded with small bells, ten on the former and six on 

 the latter. It is usually rich in detail, Avith the customary mixture of Gothic ele- 

 ments with florid Renaissance foliage. The knop is composed of rich canopy work 

 beneath, or rather iu.side, which are seated figures of apostles, and upon the foot are 

 highly-embossed scenes from the Passion. The inscription on the paten is a curious 

 instance of the misspelling of Latin, pax doinini sit siiipir bohiscnn. 



" Among the paxes are several deserving of mention. The Cathedral of Valencia 

 sends the most beautiful of these. It is of fine gold, elaborately chased and enam- 

 eled in brilliant colors. The front is in the form of a chair, in which is seated the 

 infant Saviour, the whole of the figure being enameled ; the back of the chair is cov- 

 ered with elaborate scroll work of beautiful design and filled with enamel ; the lower 

 part of the chair beneath the seat is hollow, and has two small doors which open 

 and display a group modele<l in the round, and representing the Nativity. The ped- 

 iment above the baek of the chair is edged with two elegant scrolls in openwork, 

 and at the base of the pediment on each side is a iigure of a warrior standing. The 

 back is miuutely engraved and enameled with sacred subjects, the Adoration of the 

 Magi, Christ among the Doctors, etc. This specimen is by far the most remarkal)le 

 of all the ])axes exhibited, and its attribution to the hand of Cellini is much more 

 reasonable than is generally the case Avith works assigned to the artist. A certain 

 delicacy and refinement in the designs points rather to Italy than to Spain as the 

 country of its origin, though whether it is really by Cellini is a far more difficult 

 point to decide. This appears in the will (A. D. 1.566) of Don Martin de Ayala, arch- 

 bishop of Valencia, who bequeathed it to the cathedral. 



" A pax of perhaps greater interest, and of nearly equal beauty, is that from the 

 Cathedral of Ciudad Real. The interesting feature about this specimen is that it 

 has for its central subject a carving in black stone of Uyzantine period, represent- 

 ing the Descent into Hell, with the legend. above, H. Anactacic, i. e. , Resurrection, 

 and behind the figure of Our Lord stand the emperor and empress, crowned and 

 with halos round their heads. The frame is in the best style of the Spanish Renais- 

 sance, of silver gilt and enameled, and it bears the date 1565. On either side are 

 square projecting stages supported on well-designed .caryatid figures, and contain- 

 ing four figures of saints, and at the top is a frieze in relief representing a combat 

 between horsemen and men on foot; the pediment represents the Assumption of the 

 Virgin, with figures of Virtues at the sides, and the apex is surmounted l>y an 

 enameled figure of Our Lsrd holding the orb. The back, though by no means so 

 richly decorated as the front, is of great beauty. The handle is formed of a female 

 caryatid figure with wings, surmounted by Cross of Santiago, and toward the bot- 

 tom the terminal base of the figure divides into two serpent scrolls, which curve 

 toward the edges of the pax. For beauty of line this charming figure compares 

 favorably with any work of the period, and it would be difficult to speak in terms 

 "too high of the masterly character of the design. 



"Another pax jtosses-sing unusual features is that from the Cathedral of Parazonn. 

 The central portion, if not the whole i)ax, is certainly of north Italian work. It is 

 •of silver gilt, and has in relief the subject of the Flagellation, a group of well-mod- 

 «led figures of late fifteenth century style. The peculiarity of the work i.s that the 

 flat background is ))ainted in enamel with a mountainous iandsca])e. in the style 

 common in north Italy at this period, and of which there are several good examples 

 in the British Museum collection. The inscription at the bottom of the central sub- 



