Wolfgang Caspar Kolb, Augsburg, 1691-1695

This heavily ornamented Baroque monstrance bears the marks of the city of Augsburg and the initials of one of the best-known guilds of the time. Samogitian Bishop Kazimieras Pacas may have donated the valuable art work to Vilnius Cathedral. The iconography of the monstrance tells of Christ Passion and self-sacrifice for love of mankind. Two small angels with the instruments of Christ Passion are depicted on the sides of the monstrance. The left angel holds the cross and a hammer, while the right one holds the ladder and pincers that were needed to remove Jesus body from the cross. Above the heart-shaped receptacle for holding the Blessed Sacrament, a pelican is depicted sitting in its nest. This bird was said to cut open its breast in times of famine and feed its young with its blood. The pelican thus became the symbol of Christ sacrifice for love of mankind.