Chalice

This chalice has a traditionally shaped base separated into six equal lobes. The convex lower part of this base, which is divided horizontally into two sections, is covered in repoussé floral decoration. The upper section of the base is separated from this band by a prominent rim with a compound profile. The nearly horizontal surfaces of the lobes formed from slightly concave curves each have an oval medallion (an overlay affixed to the top of the lower part of the base) that has been left without gilding. According to the inscriptions below these pictures, they depict the repoussé figures of the Holy Family, Saints Anna and Joachim, the holy guardian angel (“S. Angelus custos”), Saint Barbara, Saint Bernard, and Saint Emeric (Imre) (S. Henricus). The six sides of the pyramidal upper section connecting to the stem are adorned with garlands of fruit and flowers, which is topped by a ring of applied, engraved leaves and a plain hexagonal plate. The baluster-shaped cast node is decorated with garlands of fruit and ribbons. The cup sits in an openwork silver calix that reaches two-thirds the way up its bowl and is bordered at the top by a ring with a compound profile and fleur-de-lis crenellation. The Implements of the Passion can be seen in compositions reminiscent of trophies amongst the leafy foliage of the calix. These include the pillar, the whip, the sponge set on a reed, the lance, and the reed scepter, as well as the cross, the ladder, the hammer, and the vessel of myrrh.

The edge of the chalice’s base has the mark of Christian Mentzel, who became a master craftsperson in 1668 and was one of the most significant silversmiths of contemporary Silesia (“CM” in an oval frame; see: Rosenberg 1425). It only received the city mark stamped in the same place sometime after 1843 (Rosenberg 1375). The cup is a 19th century replacement with a Hungarian hallmark on its outer lip that was used between 1867 and 1937 alongside the mark of its contemporary craftsperson (“T.I.”).

by Anna Ecsedy