Gotycki kielich ze zbiorów Muzeum Krakowa

Abstract

GOTHIC CHALICE FROM THE COLLECTION OF THE MUSEUM OF KRAKÓW

The paper is an attempt at a characterization of a mediaeval chalice which has been a part of the collection
of the Museum of Kraków since 1980. The liturgical vessel has not been studied in detail to date, and the
information given on the inventory card has been annotated with a question mark. The author of the paper has managed to establish a few facts concerning the history of this item, as well as set it in a wider context. Thanks to the inscriptions on the reverse of the foot, it has been determined that originally the chalice was funded for a chapel in the church in Drewnica (possibly dedicated to the Holy Trinity), and later on it was moved to be stored at a different location, namely the protestant church in Bogatka (in the days of the Rev. Mateusz Müller). The vessel can also be identified as an example of Gothic goldsmithery from the region of Danzig Pomerania due to its simplified shape (a smooth foot, a bowl which is not enclosed in a basket, a flattened knop decorated with six rhomboid knobs bearing the inscription ihesus), and the style of decoration (lack of ornamentation, a schematic representation of the Holy Trinity of the Pietas Domini iconographic type). These features, as well as similarities to a chalice from Radzyń Chełmiński, enable us to date this museum item to the second quarter of the 15^th century, closer to the middle of that century, and to associate its form with the patterns typical of the most modest kind of chalices made in Prussia.