The Bemposta Monstrance ( pt, Custódia da Bemposta) is a

monstrance A monstrance, also known as an ostensorium (or an ostensory), is a vessel used in Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, High Church Lutheran and Anglican churches for the display on an altar of some object of piety, such as the consecrated Eucharistic ...

dated 1777, designed by architect

Mateus Vicente de Oliveira Mateus Vicente de Oliveira (1706–1786) was a Portuguese architect. He studied under the architects João Frederico Ludovice and Jean Baptiste Robillon during the construction of the royal palace at Mafra - Portugal's attempt to rival the Sp ...

and made by

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

n-born jewelsmith Adam Gottlieb Pollet. It was commissioned by

Peter III of Portugal Dom Peter III ( pt, Pedro III, ; 5 July 1717 – 25 May 1786), nicknamed the Builder, was King of Portugal from 24 February 1777 to his death in 1786 as the co-ruler of his wife and niece, Queen Dona Maria I.David Birmingham ''A Concise Hist ...

for the Chapel of

Bemposta Palace The Bemposta Palace ('), also known as the ''Paço da Rainha'' (''Queen’s Palace''), is a neoclassical palace in the area of Bemposta, now the civil parish of Pena, in Lisbon. It was originally built for Queen Dowager Catherine of Braganza on ...

, an estate in the Infante's dominions as Lord of the House of the Infantado. It is one of the finest examples of Portuguese Baroque goldsmithing. It is currently part of the collection of the

National Museum of Ancient Art The Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (; MNAA), also known in English as the National Museum of Ancient Art, is a Portuguese national art museum located in Lisbon. With over 40,000 items spanning a vast collection of painting, sculpture, goldware, fu ...

, in Lisbon.

History

Few documents about the Bemposta Monstrance have survived. It was commissioned by Infante Peter of Portugal. In his will dictated in 1783, Infante Peter instructed Infante John, his successor over the dominion of the

House of the Infantado The House of the Infantado ( Portuguese: ''Casa do Infantado'') was an appanage for the second eldest son of the Portuguese monarch. History The House of the Infantado was created in 1654 by King John IV of Portugal from properties and riches c ...

, the

appanage An appanage, or apanage (; french: apanage ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture. It was common in much ...

tied to the King's second eldest son, on "the great care he ought to take in the divine worship given to God in the Chapel of

"; to this effect, he left "the precious Monstrance in ispossession" to that estate's chapel. It is known that in 1832, during the

Liberal Wars The Liberal Wars (), also known as the Portuguese Civil War (), the War of the Two Brothers () or Miguelite War (), was a war between liberal constitutionalists and conservative absolutists in Portugal over royal succession that lasted from 1 ...

, the Monstrance (along with other treasures of the Crown and the House of the Infantado; notably the

Patriarchal Monstrance Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males ...

) was taken to

Queluz Palace The Palace of Queluz ( pt, Palácio de Queluz, ) is an 18th-century palace located at Queluz, a city of the Sintra Municipality, in the Lisbon District, on the Portuguese Riviera. One of the last great Rococo buildings to be designed in Europe ...

and seized by King Michael I. It would only return to Lisbon in 1834, following the Convention of Evoramonte and the end of the civil war. In 1836, in line with the disentailment policies of the new constitutional regime, the Bemposta Monstrance found its way to the National Mint where it was evaluated by Court Assayer Justino Roberto de Sousa and was saved from melting by a report by the Treasury: "the ornateness of those pieces far exceeds their intrinsic value, we are of the opinion that it would be the height of barbarity to destroy them — a view that did not seem to please the workers of the National Mint." It was then, from 1847, kept by Infanta Isabel Maria in her palace in Benfica. From there, it was incorporated into the collections of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts and thence, in 1884, to the new National Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology (reorganised into the modern-day

in 1911). The Monstrance had long been misattributed to

João Frederico Ludovice Johann Friedrich Ludwig (19 March 1673 in Baden-Wurttemberg - 18 January 1752 in Lisbon), known in Portugal as João Frederico Ludovice, was a German-born Portuguese architect and goldsmith. From Hohnehart to Rome Ludovice was born in 1670 in Hoh ...

and, by consequence, wrongly dated to the 1740s–50s at the latest. A modern

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...

of the Monstrance, undertaken in 2013 for the exhibition "''A Encomenda Prodigiosa: Da Patriarcal à Capela Real de São João Baptista''" ("The Prodigious Commission: from the Patriarchal Basilica to the Royal Chapel of St. John the Baptist"), revealed a hidden inscription saying "''El Rey D. Pedro 3º mandou fzr / En 13 Mayo de 1777''" ("King Peter III commissioned it / 13 May 1777") and the signature "''Adam Pollet''". The date has great significance in that 13 May 1777 was the day of the solemn Acclamation of Queen Maria I, Infante Peter's wife, making him King ''

jure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title '' suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could beco ...

'' — and suggesting the commission was a

votive offering A votive offering or votive deposit is one or more objects displayed or deposited, without the intention of recovery or use, in a sacred place for religious purposes. Such items are a feature of modern and ancient societies and are generall ...

as thanksgiving for having prevailed over the

Marquis of Pombal Count of Oeiras () was a Portuguese title of nobility created by a royal decree, dated July 15, 1759, by King Joseph I of Portugal, and granted to Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, head of the Portuguese government. Later, through another roya ...

's schemes to hand the crown instead to Joseph, Prince of Brazil.

Description

functions as a vessel to present the consecrated

host A host is a person responsible for guests at an event or for providing hospitality during it. Host may also refer to: Places *Host, Pennsylvania, a village in Berks County People * Jim Host (born 1937), American businessman * Michel Host ...

to the congregation as part of the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

liturgical ritual of Eucharistic adoration. A typical monstrance in form, the highly ornate Bemposta Monstrance comprises a sunburst framing the circular frame for the wafer (which has a curved holder set with stones that holds it up to view, its shape echoing the crescent moon that is usually depicted at the foot of Virgin Mary when evoking the

Immaculate Conception The Immaculate Conception is the belief that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church, meaning that it is held to be a divinely revealed truth wh ...

) supported on an undulating stem that stands upon an intricately sculpted supporting base. The base is set with figures symbolising the three

theological virtues Theological virtues are virtues associated in Christian theology and philosophy with salvation resulting from the grace of God. Virtues are traits or qualities which dispose one to conduct oneself in a morally good manner. Traditionally they ...

(Faith, Hope and Charity) below angels with the symbols of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was institu ...

, flanking narrative medallions showing scenes from the Passion cycle. It is made of

gilt silver Silver-gilt or gilded/gilt silver, sometimes known in American English by the French term vermeil, is silver (either pure or sterling silver, sterling) which has been gilding, gilded with gold. Most large objects made in goldsmithing that appear ...

, and set with numerous stones:

diamond Diamond is a solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the chemically stable form of carbon at room temperature and pressure, ...

rubies A ruby is a pinkish red to blood-red colored gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum ( aluminium oxide). Ruby is one of the most popular traditional jewelry gems and is very durable. Other varieties of gem-quality corundum are called s ...

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

sapphire Sapphire is a precious gemstone, a variety of the mineral corundum, consisting of aluminium oxide () with trace amounts of elements such as iron, titanium, chromium, vanadium, or magnesium. The name sapphire is derived via the Latin "sap ...

amethyst Amethyst is a violet variety of quartz. The name comes from the Koine Greek αμέθυστος ''amethystos'' from α- ''a-'', "not" and μεθύσκω (Ancient Greek) / μεθώ (Modern Greek), "intoxicate", a reference to the belief that ...

chrysoberyl The mineral or gemstone chrysoberyl is an aluminate of beryllium with the formula Be Al2 O4. The name chrysoberyl is derived from the Greek words χρυσός ''chrysos'' and βήρυλλος ''beryllos'', meaning "a gold-white spar". Despit ...

topaz Topaz is a silicate mineral of aluminium and fluorine with the chemical formula Al Si O( F, OH). It is used as a gemstone in jewelry and other adornments. Common topaz in its natural state is colorless, though trace element impurities can ma ...

(colourless, Imperial, and pink).

References

{{Reflist Monstrances Baroque sculpture Gold sculptures 1777 works