80 COLUMBIAN HISTORICAL EXPOSITION AT MADRID. 



and containing 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 Assump 

 tion of the Virgin, with figures of Virtues at the sides, and the apex is surmounted 

 by an enameled figure of Our Lord 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 the Cross of Santiago, and 

 toward the bottom the terminal base of the figure divides into two serpentine 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 possessing unusual features is that from the Cathedral of Parazona. 

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

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

 modeled figures of late fifteenth-century style. The peculiarity of the work is that 

 the flat background is painted in enamel, with a mountainous landscape, 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 

 ject, &quot; Borgia-Car. Mon. Regal,&quot; would seem to indicate that it was the property of 

 Cardinal Borgia, archbishop oOfonreale, in Sicily, who died in 1503. The frame is 

 of uncommon design, and may be of the same work as the center, but it is possible 

 that it was added in Spain. Two pilasters which form the sides are somewhat poor 

 in execution, and the cresting round the curved top of the pax is curiously classical 

 in feeling, and consists of groups of two winged lion monsters, looped together at 

 the necks and tails, the junctions of the latter being surmounted by palmettes. 

 There is a certain clumsiness about the design which is scarcely Italian. 



The only other pax worthy of special note is that from the Cathedral of Madrid- 

 Alcala, an excellent example of Spanish Gothic metal work of the late fifteenth or 

 early sixteenth century, without any trace of later style. The subject is the Descent 

 from the Cross, modeled in high relief and enameled. This is surmounted by an 

 elaborate canopy filled with rich tracery, and on each side are pinnacles with 

 buttressed bases, surrounded with figures of saints. The back is good in design, 

 the handle being a plain semicircle pierced to represent a dragon, while the edges 

 are bordered with bold tracery in relief. The work of the whole is excellent, and 

 little is wanting to make it a beautiful object, but a certain squatness and want of 

 elegance of form in the general design suffice to make it fall short of true beauty. 



One of the best specimens of Spanish Gothic, and a remarkable object for its great 

 size, is the monstrance from the Cathedral of Jativa, which, without the modern sil 

 ver base upon which it is now placed, stands 5 feet high. The occasion of its con 

 struction was in itself notable. Pope Alexander VI was a native of Jativa, and had 

 this gigantic monstrance made for the cathedral from the first consignment of silver 

 received from America. The shape is very graceful, and consists of a stem rising 

 from a many-sided base and supporting a shaped oblong platform, the edges of which 

 are bordered by a light arcade. Upon this platform rest four pillars, which sustain 

 the roof, and from this rise three slender towers pierced with tracery, with rich can 

 opy work at their bases. The actual monstrance, or receptacle for the Host, is a cir 

 cular disk of a size proportionate to the rest, with an elaborate open-work border of 

 what in England would be called late Tudor style, and it is held up by two angels 

 kneeling at opposite sides. The effect of this beautiful object is much destroyed by 

 the whole having been regilt, and by the enamels in the foot having been renewed; 

 but in spite of this drawback it remains one of the most beautiful, as it is the most 

 conspicuous, objects of ecclesiastical art in the exhibition. 



The processional crosses, of which a very large number are shown, form a very 

 interesting and instructive series, possessing many features differing from similar 

 objects in other countries. The Marque s de Cubas (room 23) exhibits a good collection, 

 which is supposed to represent all the types from the eleventh century to the seven- 



