Calyx (Chalice)
Unknown Artist
900s-1000s
Medium
blood jasper (heliotrope) with gilt-copper mounts
Dimensions
h. 7.7 cm
Classification
Glyptic
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
2013.49
About this artwork
This hardstone vessel is shaped as a small bowl-shaped beaker which tapers slightly towards the base. It is crafted from jasper, a form of chalcedony, an opaque hardstone. The stone appears in a variety of colors, but in this instance is of the type known as "blood jasper," which assumes a deep ruby red color. The surface is highly polished and the vessel in enclosed in handsome gilt-copper mounts featuring a repeating lambrequin-type ornament. The calyx belongs to an exclusive and rare genre of...