Two designs for a communion rail

Inventory number: CVH 420
Bollaert & Moortgat

On one single drawing sheet: two designs, one above the other, for a communion rail. The upper communion rail contains, in each case, in an oval- or round medallion, a triangle with the all-seeing Eye of God, the pelican with its young, and a chalice with the Host; the motifs on the panels, that join these medallions together, are all Eucharistic motifs, namely bunches of grapes and ears of corn. Depicted on the lower communion rail, from left to right, are: a table with showbreads, the pelican feeding its young, a small group of people that knocks at the door of a house, the lamb lying on a cross and the Ark of the Covenant with cherub’s heads. In between each of these panels is a winged angel, with, from left to right, breads, a bottle, fabrics(?), a little pot, a key and a shovel.

Artist:

anonymous (Antwerp)

Dating:

1750-1799

Material:

Watercolour; black ink on paper

Dimensions:

179 x 541 mm

Marks :

Inscription above each communion rail, in the middle; inscription on the bottom communion rail, under each angel; inscription on the bottom edge, under the communion rail; inscription on the bottom communion rail, on the stair at the bottom.

Place:

Plantin-Moretus-Museum, Antwerp

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