the central design is effaced. Velvet, Italian, 16th century, all the paintings very late 15th century, and German. Box, 10 inches by 9-1/2 inches.
As a case for holding "corporals" and "palls," this box is a
curiosity, in its way, of rare occurrence. It must be carefully distinguished
from a square sort of case for the "corporal," and called the
"burse." The corporal is a large square piece of fine linen; and at
one time the chalice at mass not only stood upon it but was covered too
by its inward border; but for a long period, the usage has been and is
to put upon the chalice, instead of any part of the corporal, a much
smaller separate square piece of fine linen, often stiffened, the better to
serve its purpose, with card-board, like this example; such is a pall,
and the one before us is figured, we may say illuminated, with what used
to be called, in England, St. Gregory's Pity; "Church of our Fathers,"
i. 53. Upon an altar, around which are the instruments of the Passion,
and on one side St. Peter, known by the key in his hand, and on the
other the cock on the column, crowing, stands our Lord all bleeding,
with the blood trickling into a chalice between His feet. At the foot
of the altar kneels, veiled for mass, St. Gregory the Great, behind
whom we see, holding a book in both hands, St. Jerome, robed as a
cardinal; the whole is framed in a floriated border. The other, and
unstiffened "pall," is illuminated with the Crucifixion after the usual
conventional manner, in all respects, that prevailed at the time it was
done, that is, somewhere about the year 1490. As specimens on linen
these two palls are rather rare. The border of flowers, on vellum,
attached to the inside of the lid, is a free, well-coloured, and pleasing
example of the Flemish school late in the 15th century. The raised
velvet is of a rich crimson tone, and from Lucca or Genoa.
Though, in later times, employed as an ordinary case for the cleanly keeping after service of the corporals or pieces of fine linen, always spread out in the middle of the altar-stone for the host and chalice to rest upon, at mass, its first use seems to have been for reservation of the Blessed Sacrament consecrated on Maundy-Thursday to serve at the celebration of the divine office on Good Friday morning, as we have fully set forth in the Introduction § 5, and again while describing a similar box, No. 5958.
In the present specimen all that remains of the vellum illumination, once upon the inside of the lid, is a wreath of painted flowers, within which stood the missing Crucifixion. The absence of that scene is, however, well supplied by the other kind of art-work wrought in colours
