Page:Archaeological Journal, Volume 9.djvu/370

 202 PROCEEDINGS AT MEETINGS OF from the mark, probably French workmanship ; from this circumstance I have not been able to fix their precise date, but from their general character, and particularly that of the stoppers, I should think they arc of the bco-inning of the sixteenth century, if not of earlier date. " I am inclined to think that no particular form of vessel to contain the wine for consecration, besides the chalice, was at first specially prescribed, but that, after the introduction of these larger chalices, the required quantity of wine may have been put into the cup, and the cover placed on it till the time of celebration. For the vessel, in the form of a tall tankard, with a wide foot, which we now call the flagon (probably retaining the ancient name, though the form was changed) is a later addition to the sacred vessels in early use ; it having been ordered at the convocation held in 1G04, that 'the wine be brought to the communion-table in a clean sweet standing pot or stoup, of pewter if not of purer metal.' From this direction it may be inferred that some general inconvenience had been felt from a want of due regularity of practice in that matter. " The ancient chalices and covers which I have described are invariably of silver, and in some cases have been gilded ; they occasionally differ in size, but the form and ornament is always the same. The handsomest specimen of this early communion plate which I have met with is in the parish of Mark in Somersetshire, where it is of silver gilt, and in very good preservation ; its date is 1573. The custom of making these covers to the chalices continued, in some instances, for a long time ; for the chalices of the communion plate of Westminster Abbey, which was made in 1G61, have each a cover of this kind, whilst the patens used for the bread are of precisely the same form, only of a larger size. " From what I have seen and heard, I am sadly afraid that the taste of churchwardens and rectors having, in many instances, a leaning either towards the medieval, or much more modern forms, has caused the destruction of much of this ancient church plate. I hope, however, that by drawing attention to its history, I may be the means of preserving in future those that remain of these ancient sacred vessels, which are interesting, not only on account of their being some of the most ancient pieces of English plate remaining to our time, but from the fact of their being the earliest sacred vessels in which the Holy Communion was administered according to the rites of the Church of England, when it was first permanently esta- blished under Queen Elizabeth." Mr. Hewitt exhibited a helmet of very remarkable fashion, recently added to the collection at the Tower, and communicated the foUowincr observations : — " Among the beautiful objects of classic taste that distinguished the Revival of Art in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, there are few more striking than the mask and winged helmets of that day. Contrasted with the simple casque of John of Eltham, or the richly-gemmed bassinet of Hugh Calvelcy, they show how the old Gothic workers erred both on the side of form and adornment ! These odd cinque-cento heads are of three varieties : sometimes they have the wings onlj^ sometimes the mask alone, and, thirdly, they have both wings and mask-visor. The winged helmets were probably derived from those of the Samnites and other gladiators, examples of which may be found in every museum; in sculptures, in metal casting, or in vnse painting. " In the ' Bronze Room ' of the British Museum may be seen an