Vilnius, 1582-1583

This uniquely shaped chalice is richly decorated with Renaissance artistic ornaments and figures of saints. Its unusually abrupt base bears images of the Savior and the twelve Apostles, while the cup has images of the four Evangelists. It is guessed that the chalice was donated to the jesuit Church of St. James in Riga by the Bishop of Vilnius and later Krakow, Cardinal and Count Jurgis Radvila on the occasion of the ordination of its priest in 1583. In 1612, while retreating from Riga, the Jesuits took the chalice to the Church of St. Ignatius in Vilnius, and after the liquidation of the Jesuit order, the vessel was transferred to the Carmelite Church of St. George; in the 19th century, the bishop assigned it to the Vilnius Cathderal.