Messkelch mit Patene

The inscription A.E.I.O.U. and the date 1438 on the upper side of the bas indicate (that the chalice was donated by Emperor Friedrich II who used these vowels as an multivalent device (e.g. "Austria Est Imperare Orbi Universo" - It is for Austria to rule the whole world). It was understood as meaning that the House of Austria was legitimately entitled to the Kingdom of Germany and the Roman Empire. This piece and the sundial in the Kunstkammer ( KK_166), which is a dated 1438, provide the earliest testimony to the dynasty's clear consciousness of its own significance an mission in the world. The octagonal shaft-rings bear the inscription: + GOT BUES + ZU DIER AMEN (God atones for thee. Amen). The composition of the chalice juxtaposes smooth zones with zones of Ornamental decoration. The bulbous, ajouré nodus has been worked in two lavers. Its outer Layer consists of a plaited central ring, bordered on each side by a sequence of six identical ornamental leaves. Since the leases were only adapted for this purpose afterwards, and the inner mounting of the nodus does not belong to the original either, this unusual form of nodus is probably the result of modern restoration (l7th century?). The original nodus perhaps had tracery decoration or lozenge-shaped rotoli. On account of the wide distribution of this type of chalice, the artistic origin of this piece cannot be determined for certain. Similar proportions are to be found in other pieces too, above all in chalices from Nuremberg, a centre which seems to have supplied the Emperor with other implements as well (chrismatory in the Neukloster Monastery, Wiener Neustadt). The chalice was formerly kept in the Chapel of St. George, founded by Emperor Friedrich III in the Burg in Wiener Neustadt, and was not transferred to the Vienna Treasury until 1831.