When it was discovered at the beginning of the twentieth century, this "chalice" was claimed to have been found in Antioch, a city so important to the early Christians that it was recognized with Rome and Alexandria as one of the great sees of the church. The chalice's plain silver interior bowl was then ambitiously identified as the Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. The elaborate footed shell enclosing it was thought to have been made within a century after the death of Christ to encase and honor the Grail. The fruited grapevine forming the rinceau pattern of the gilded shell is inhabited by birds, including an eagle; animals, including a lamb and a rabbit; and twelve human figures holding scrolls and seated in high-backed chairs. Two of the figures are thought to be images of Christ. The other ten figures have been variously identified as ten of the twelve apostles, or philosophers of the classical age, who, like the prophets of the Old Testament, had foretold the coming of Christ. The sixth-century chronicler Malalas of Antioch was among those who sought to make such links between Christianity and classical philosophy.
The identification of the "Antioch Chalice" as the Holy Grail has not been sustained, and even its authenticity has at times been challenged. The work has usually been considered a sixth-century chalice for the Eucharist. Most recently, however, its shape has been recognized as more closely resembling sixth-century standing lamps, its decoration possibly in recognition of Christ's words "I am the light of the world" (John 8:12). It has been argued to be part of a treasure of liturgical objects found in 1908 belonging to the Church of Saint Sergios in the town of Kaper Koraon southeast of Antioch. If so, Saint Sergios' parishioners might well have traveled to Antioch to purchase the object as a donation for their church. Or it may have been used in one of the churches in or near Antioch.
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Artwork Details
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Title:The Antioch "Chalice"
Date:500–550
Geography:Made in Antioch or Kaper Koraon (?)
Culture:Byzantine
Medium:Silver, silver-gilt
Dimensions:Overall: 7 11/16 x 7 1/16 x 6 in. (19.6 x 18 x 15.2 cm) foot: 2 15/16 in. (7.4 cm)
Classification:Metalwork-Silver
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1950
Accession Number:50.4
[ Kouchakji Frères, Paris and New York (by 1913)] ; [ Fahim Joseph Kouchakji 1886–1976, New York (sold 1950)]
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Pavillon de Marsan. "Exposition internationale d'art byzantin," May 28–July 9, 1931.
Chicago World's Fair, Hall of Religion. "Chicago World's Fair: A Century of Progress International Exposition," 1933–1934.
Brooklyn Museum of Art. "The Chalice of Antioch and Associated Objects," December 1935–January 1936.
Worcester Art Museum. "The Dark Ages, loan exhibition of early Christian and Byzantine art," February 20–March 21, 1937.
Springfield Art Museum. "Ecclesiastical Arts Exhibition," November 7–December 14, 1941.
Baltimore Museum of Art. "Early Christian and Byzantine art, an exhibition held at the Baltimore Museum of Art," April 25–June 22, 1947.
Los Angeles County Museum of Art. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," January 18, 1970–March 29, 1970.
Chicago. Art Institute of Chicago. "The Middle Ages: Treasures from The Cloisters and The Metropolitan Museum of Art," May 16, 1970–July 5, 1970.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Masterpieces of Fifty Centuries," November 14, 1970–June 1, 1971.
Walters Art Museum. "Silver from Early Byzantium," April 18–August 17, 1986.
Worcester Art Museum. "Antioch: The Lost Ancient City," October 7, 2000–February 4, 2001.
London. Royal Academy of Arts. "Byzantium, 330-1453," October 25, 2008–March 22, 2009.
Bacon, Benjamin Wisner. "Eagle and Basket on the Antioch Chalice." The Annual of the American Schools of Oriental Research 5 (1923–24). pp. 1–22.
Exposition internationale d'art byzantin. Paris: Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Pavillon de Marsan, 1931. no. 335, p. 115, pl. I.
The Dark Ages: Loan Exhibition of Pagan and Christian Art in the Latin West and Byzantine East. Worcester, Mass.: Worcester Art Museum, 1937. no. 71, p. 33, ill.
Arnason, H. Harvard. "The History of the Chalice of Antioch." The Biblical Archaeologist 4, no. 4 (December 1941). pp. 49–64, fig. 1.
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Hoving, Thomas. "The Thread of Patronage: The Medieval Collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art and The Cloisters." Apollo 82, no. 43 (September 1965). p. 192, fig. 16.
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Frazer, Margaret English. "Medieval Church Treasuries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 43, no. 3 (Winter 1985-1986). p. 8, fig. 1.
Mango, Marlia Mundell. Silver From Early Byzantium: The Kaper Koraon and Related Treasures. Baltimore: Walters Art Gallery, 1986. no. 40, pp. 18, 28–33, 63, 183–87, fig. 40.1–40.6.
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