Dear Friends!
Take a trip to our virtual museum during your coffee or tea break and make your #quarantinediscoveries!

Admire unique cultural assets of the Museum Fund of Ukraine!
A chalice is a liturgical vessel, carrying the symbolic meaning of the cup of the Last Supper. The symbolics of the chalices' decoration unites the sacrament of Holy Communion, the mystery of the Nativity of Christ from the Virgin Mary, and the cup of the suffering of Christ for the sins of the whole world. This vessel also symbolizes the unity of the Church of Heaven and Earth.
We present to your attention an outstanding object of jewelry art from the Preserve's collection. A silver chalice was donated by the monk Ivestion, Lavra's librarian, to the Trinity Church of St. Nicholas Hospital in 1755. It is evidenced by the inscription on the vessel. The medallions of the chalice feature the embossed compositions of the Crucifixion with side figures, Ascension of Christ, Coronation of the Mother of God and St. Nicholas. The decor of the base of chalice deserves special attention. A multi-figure composition of the Last Supper covers all surfaces of the base. Its iconography is unique and features fourteen characters, while, this scene usually represents Christ and eleven or twelve apostles. The characters are both dynamic and restrained. The figure of Judas is separated from the other participants in the meal. Traditionally there is no halo around his head. The fourteenth character of the composition has no halo as well. He is an elderly man sitting at a separate table with a plate and a large jar. This is probably an image of the owner of the house where the Last Supper takes place. The Gospel text confirms it: “And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are come into the city, there shall a man meet you, bearing water in a pitcher, and ye shall follow him unto the house whither he goeth” (Luke 22:10, 12).
Luxurious work of decorative art of the mid-18th century was restored by the art restorer of the Preserve Vyacheslav Ralemsky in 2009. Today the chalice occupies an important place at the exhibition “Revived Treasures of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”.
See you at the exhibition after the quarantine! Meanwhile, let's #stayathome and discover the beauties of the Preserve's collection together!

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