Eucharistic chest. Circa 1600. Polychrome and... Lot 15

Eucharistic chest. Circa 1600. Polychrome and gilded wood. Measures: 17 x 18'5 x 12 cm. The box consists of a molded base and presents a rectangular body, with a vaulted lid, joined to the body by means of linked nails, as it was usual since the Middle Ages. Both the body of the box and the lid have been covered with a thin layer of stucco that serves as a base for the gold leaf with which the entire object has been gilded. In addition to this gilding, the box is decorated with three borders in red and blue. In the red borders, which decorate the foot and the mouth of the box, a simple geometric design based on circles, fleur-de-lis and stars has been drawn using the sgraffito technique. In the central blue border, a text in Roman capital letters, now partially lost, has been sgraffitoed. The legible fragments, "O sacrum convivium in quo Christus sumitur recolitur" belong to a Latin text in honor of the Eucharist that is included in the antiphon of the office of Vespers and whose authorship is attributed to St. Thomas Aquinas. This text allows us to establish that the box was originally used to preserve the Eucharistic reserve, that is, the consecrated host, until its use in the communion of the priest and the faithful throughout the liturgy of the Mass. Throughout the late Middle Ages there was a growing awareness of the importance of keeping and displaying the Sacred Form or Eucharist with decorum and even in a sumptuous manner, and for this purpose various types of objects were created, the oldest of which were the Eucharistic chests, beautifully decorated boxes like the one we now present, which were placed on the altar, in full view of all the faithful. Later, ostensories were created, which allowed a direct view of the Eucharist, although the boxes continued to be used.