Communion cup and paten
1559-1560
Medium
silver
Measurements
(1) 19.9 × 10.7 cm diameter (communion cup)
(2) 6.1 × 13.5 cm diameter (paten)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Felton Bequest, 1973
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
In the 1530s King Henry VIII of England enacted a number of laws by which the English church broke away from the authority of the Pope. Significant changes took place to the rituals of the Church of England. This Communion cup reflects these innovations. In the pre-Reformation Catholic ritual of the Eucharist only the priests partook of wine. In the Protestant ritual, the wine was shared by the whole congregation, requiring a vessel of much larger capacity. The Communion cup’s form reflects contemporary domestic drinking vessels in a conscious effort to distinguish it from the traditional shape of the chalice.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
London, England
Inscription
(1) punched in outside of upper rim u.l.: b
punched in outside of upper rim u.c.: (crowned leopard's head)
punched (diagonally) in outside of upper rim u.c.l.: (lion passant)
punched (diagonally) (inverted) in outside of upper rim u.c.r.: (...illeg.) / .
(2) punched (diagonally) in outside of upper rim u.c.: (...illeg.) W / . (crowned leopard's head)
punched (diagonally) (inverted) in outside of upper rim u.r.: (lion passant)
punched (diagonally) in outside of upper rim u.r.: b
Accession Number
D201.1-2-1973
Department
International Decorative Arts
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Digitisation Champion Ms Carol Grigor through Metal Manufactures Limited
Physical description
Cup: flat bottomed, trumpet shaped bowl, everted rim, engraved ornament. Paten: plain, circular.