ABOUT ARTEFACT

Chalices usually consist of three parts- bowl, stem with knop and pedestal- held together by means of screwed sockets. Of these parts the foot is the most important from an historical point of view as it was generally inscribed with the donor’s name and date. There are five pewter chalices in the collection. They are all plain crudely fashioned vessels devoid of any inscription or decoration except perhaps for the example dated 1704 which has the sacred monogram ‘IHS’ engraved on the pedestal. Unfortunately in 1970 and again in 1980 the museum was subject to robberies. In the latter over forty or our finest Chalices, numerous gold crosses and episcopal rings were stolen and never recovered.