Collection

Chalice with Two Strands of Ivy, c. A.D. 400

Roman


This chalice is a flattened, schematized image of a vessel with a hemispherical bottom from which rises a hollow stem with two strands of ivy streaming from the top. The chalice, a cup that holds the consecrated wine and water of the Eucharist, is by extension associated with the Last Supper and Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross. The ivy is an allusion to immortality.

Provenance

Provenance

(Elie Borowski (1913-2003), Basel, Switzerland);

purchased by Kimbell Art Foundation, Fort Worth, 1972.