Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1917-09-27

What, it is thought, may be accurate
portraits Of Christ and the apostles
have been discovered on an old chalice
dug up from the ruins of Antioch and
now in the possession Of an art dealer
in New York city. With other silver
treasure the chalice came into the pos
session Of the present owners direct
from the hands of the excavators IN
1910, and sculptured in it's ornamental
work are the portraits.
1t is probable that the old chalice, or
communion cup, some Of whose worn
figures bear witness to the imprint Of
the kisses of early Christians, is a relic
Of a cathedral erected in Antioch by
Constantine the Great after his re-
moval of the capital Of his empire to
Constantinople. This Antioch church
was intended to he the center of Chris
tan worship in the east and remained
standing until the year 526, when dur
ing an assemblage Of 100000 Chris
tians the city was leveled by an earth
quake so disastrous that one building
could not be distinguished from an
other among the ruins.
1t vas natural that a chalice of such
great value and %sanctity in the posses
sion of the first Christian emperor
would have been left by him in the
city where the word Christian was first
used and which was endeared to him
by it's associations with st. Peter, st.
Paul and other apostles who resided
there. This chalice and other treas
ures discovered at the same excavation
were removed to this country from
Paris for greater safety at the out
break of the war.
The chalice Of the portraits can be
dated with certainty to the second half
of the first century A. d., says DR..
Gustavus A.. Eisen, the ~archaeologist,
who is now in this country and who
has made a preliminary report upon it
ogy. 1t was found by Arabs digging q
well i'll Antioch On the Arontes, Syria.
AT the depth of many meters they
came upon underground chambers
which contained the treasure.
ChaIice Is In Three Parts.
Liz Sudl1SC Will LLC pOIlidllS Is
made in three parts. There is an inner
bowl of plain silver, crudely made,
with a heavy outer casing Of beautiful
sculptured work in which, woven in
with a design of vine leaves and
grapes, are the portraits Of Christ and
the disciples. The whole is supported
on a short, slender stem and narrow
foot disk turned out on q lathe from a
solid block of silver. On the lower part
of the bowl Of the chalice is a cluster
of lotus leaves.
The body Of the chalice, while beau
tiful in form, is crudely made, ham,
mered from a thick sheet Of silver, the
edge turned rudely back without at
tempt at ornamentation or smooth fin
ish. 1t was not the property of the
rich. The fact Of its preservation and
the beautiful s%culptured work, added
to it later, with the portraits of Christ
and the disciples upon it, makes it evil
dent that 1t was in some way closely
allied to them.
The sculptured work is Greek, that
Of an artist, DR.. Eisen believes, and
the individuality shown in the faces
makes it certain. that they were taken
from life OF from portraits of which
those in wax of the period were excel
lent. The reason for there being only
ten of the apostles shown is possibly,
it is said, because the artist was famil-
lar with the faces Of of only that num-
Der or had seen only that number Of
| portraits.
"Such individuality cannot be the re-
suit Of accident says Dr.. Eisen, "and
it is the first time that it has been
| shown in early Christian art
There are two groups OF figures, one
IN either side of the chalice, each CON
tanning a central figure, with five apos-
ties facing it. One figure of the mature
Christ is in the more prominent of the
two groups.
S~yrboiioai Figures In Design.
Many of the apostles hold scrolls in
their hands. one holds a purse and one
a handle that may be that of a sword.
Doves, snails, a rabbit, a butterfly and
a grasshopper are among the animals
shown. There is a band of %fifty-seven
rosettes at the top of the c42alice, Of
about equal size, and at II point is a
star such as was seen on pre-3oman
Antioch coins. The rosettes, which are
noticeably crowded. may have refer
ence to the year, it is thought.
The chalice is nineteen centimeters
high and the top of the bowl eighteen
centimeters.
1t was with great difficulty that the
chalice was taken from Syria. 1t was
a year and a half before this could be
accomplished. Rumor had made it
known that a great treasure had been
discovered, and residences and Offices
were searched, for 1T, and it was only
by %concealing 1t In n convent that 1t
was preserved and finally removed.