Chalice
Author: Unknown
Date: 16th century, 2nd quarter
Material: Gilt silver
Dimensions (cm): H 29,5 x D 11,1
Provenance: Guimarães, Colegiada de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira
Inventory No.: MAS O 45
This chalice has a scalloped foot, tintinabula and the sculpted reverse of the bowl that reveal the persistence of the Manueline style, but, the architectonic knop was replaced by a classical vase or an urn, in the Renaissance taste.
On the base of the scalloped foot, one sees the relief figures of Christ, of a saint, of Saint Jerome and of a martyr. The lower bowl is decorated with relief heads of angels alternating with smaller busts from which hang the bells.
This chalice is one of the most interesting works of Portuguese silverware from the mannerist period. The introduction of the image of Saint Jerome reminds us that the Convento de Santa Marinha da Costa to which it belonged had been, since 1528, entrusted to the Order of Saint Jerome. After the extinction of the religious orders in the 19th century, in 1834, the chalice passed into the hands of the Irmandade das Almas of the parish of Santa Marinha da Costa, finally entering the Museu de Arqueologia Cristã of the Colegiada de Nossa Senhora da Oliveira around 1900.