Two Ceremonial Basins
Claude Caignet (act. as of 1609)
Two Ceremonial Basins, 1620–24
Gilt silver
Diam.: 15 3/8 in. (39 cm); depth: 1 3/16 in. (3 cm)
Terra Sancta Museum, Jerusalem
© The Frick Collection
According to a longstanding tradition, a credenza laden with ceremonial dishes is placed in the choir of churches during Pontifical Mass (a solemn Mass celebrated by a high-ranking prelate, like a bishop or the Custos). The two large basins, decorated with the arms of France and Navarre and with fleurs-de-lys, were sent to Jerusalem in 1635 as a gift from Louis XIII (r. 1610–43).
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