Chalice and paten of Dom Sancho
Author: Unknown
Date: 1187
Material: Gilt silver
Dimensions (cm): chalice – H 16,5 x D 15,5; paten – D 19,4
Inscription: + E: M: CC: XXV: REX: SANCI: ET REGINA: DULCIA: OFFERUNT: CALICEM: ISTUM: STE: MARINE: DE: COSTA (chalice)
Provenance: Guimarães, Colegiada de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira
Inventory No.: MAS O 35 and MAS O 40
Considered national treasures, this chalice and the paten that accompanies it were offered by King Dom Sancho I and Queen Dona Dulce of Aragon to the Mosteiro de Santa Marinha da Costa, when one of their sons was born, probably Dom Pedro.
With the extinction of the Religious Orders, it passed to the ownership of the Irmandade das Almas in the Parish of Costa. At the close of the 19th century, it came to be incorporated in the Museu de Arqueologia Cristã of the Collegiate Church of Guimarães.
The chalice has a circular base decorated with rosettes alternating with lions rampant, which may symbolize Christ’s saving action and his spiritual power. Around the base of the chalice, there is a legend that refers to the date and the regal donors: “+ E: M: CC: XXV: REX: SANCI: ET REGINA: DULCIA: OFFERUNT: CALICEM: ISTUM: STE: MARINE: DE: COSTA” (In the year 1225 – 1187 of the Christian era – King Sancho and Queen Dulce offer this Chalice to Santa Marinha da Costa). Notice that the date of the legend – 1225 – refers to the Era of Caesar, which prevailed until the 15th century.
The paten has a plain ledge around a well, recessed, into six rounded lobes. At the centre, isolated inside a circle, the Hand of God can be seen, engraved and superimposed over a cross with a reticulated ground, a reference to the union between the Father and the Crucified Son.