Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 2.djvu/173

Rh Magi, the Baptism of the Saviour, the Mater dolorosa, and occasionally figures of Saints, as St. Martin, St. Sebastian, &c. in allusion, probably, to the Saint in honour of whom the church, where such ornaments were used, had been dedicated.

Amongst the curious ornaments preserved at New College, Oxford, comprising the remains of the precious mitre bequeathed by the Founder, a pontifical ring and other relics, a Pax of silver parcel-gilt is to be seen, of which a representation is here given, as an example of the usual form of this instrument and the adjustment of its handle.

It measures 5 in. by 3 in. and one tenth. The character of ornament indicates that it was fabricated about the times of Henry VI., or perhaps rather later in the fifteenth century. The ornamental border composed of the ragged staff, or bâton, escotté, occurs frequently in illuminations of that period. The Pax, of which Dr. Milner gave a representation in the Archæologia, supplies another example, presenting likewise the subject of the Crucifixion; it had been preserved by the Roman Catholics in the neighbourhood of Wolverhampton, with other objects of sacred use which had escaped the general prohibition at the time of the Reformation.