ABBEY TREASURES

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 82, 3 October 1929, Page 22

ABBEY TREASURES

INCREASE YEAR BY YEAR

BEAUTIFUL WORKS OF ART

GENEROSITY OF TJONOKS

Westminster Abbey is a veritable ■museum of works of art. This is an aspect of the wonderful old building which does not always receive adequate recognition. None the less, \t ought never to- be forgotten, states the Rev. tTocelyn Perkins,, in the London "Observer." Treasures of woodwork, like the- canopied stalls in Henry Vll;'a Chapel; treasures of ironwork, like the grille attached to the tomb of Queen Eleanor of Castile;, treasures of sculpture, like the numerous Eoyal- effigies —these are only a few out ,of a lengthy list, far too numerous to recapitulate here. ' .

With these, however, and such as these, we are not here immediately concerned. There are in addition a great quantity of works of art, both ancient and modern, more especially connected with the constant offering of praise and worship. These treasures, thanks to the generosity of recent and present-day donors, steadily increase year by year.

At the present rate of progress it is conceivable that our descendants fifty years hence will find themselves confronted with a great mass of beautiful things, almost comparable in quantity, if not in quality, with the contents of the wonderful and tragic Inventory drawn up at the time of thu dissolution of the medieval monastery. None of the existing treasures, with one exception, can be assigned to a period anterior to the Eestoration. The seventeenth century specimens are bf immense value and historical interest, while it may fairly be claimed that thte varipus modern works of art, in almost every case, are fully worthy of their august surroundings.

ELIZABETHAN COMMUNION CUP.

The Abbey possesses, .in the first place, a fine collection of plate, the most ancient specimen of which is an interesting Elizabethan communion cup and cover bearing the date 1571.. It probably hailed from Oxford in the first place, and after experiencing a curious history, during part of which time it lay embedded in the mud of the Isis,' or the Cherwell, it eventually reached the hands of the Dean and Chapter of Westminster as a touching and' beautiful War Memorial.

During the forty years or so which succeeded the accession of Charles IL to the throne of England, the Abbey authorities took special pains to enrich their church with various fine pieces of silver-gilt plate. Within a year from the Restoration of that Sovereign they had provided two communion cups and covers and two flagons. These fine specimens of the art of the period are devoid of any decoration, depending for their effect entirely upon their graceful proportions.

Ten years later, John Sudbury, a former prebendary, by this time became Dean of Durham, proceeded to enrich, tho Collegiate Church of Westminster with a beautiful toiten of his affection, consisting of two communion cups and covers, elaborately chased and embossed with acanthus leaves and other decorations.

The following decade witnessed a still moro important development. A great*, alms dish, nearly three- feet in diameter and richly decorated; a smaller one, plain but displaying great beauty of proportion; and last, but by no means least, two magnificent silvergilt candlesticks, were all added to the Abbey treasures at this period. THE ABYSSINIAN CROSS. The latter gift was due to the generosity of Sarah Hughes, housekeeper of one of the assistant masters at Westminster School. Her name is to bo seen pounced upon one of the medallions on the base. The present century, too, hais •witnessed several gifts of great value and interest, as the famous Abyssinian Cross, a votive, offering by tho late Bag Makunan for the recovery of King Edward VII. from serious illness; the costly processional cross given by the Hon. Kodman Wanamaker on Christmas Eve, 1922.

A great altar cross of ' silver-gilt, weighing upwards of 600oz, the gift of Lord Eosebery in memory of the marriage of tho present Marquis and Marchioness of Crewe; and four splendid silver-gilt alms dishes, the offering of the citizens of "Westminster in memory of the late Dean Ityle, together with other specimens of the art of the metal craftsman too numerous for words.

The Coronation copes, some of them made of velvet, others of gold tissue, twelve in. all, arc deservedly famous, while in recent years their number has been more than doubled by the addiissA of modern companions, more than tme of which is of great magnificence. Three splendid banners, too, have feaen presented since the war by the Ofcnreh Lad's' Brigade, the Girls' 3-Wandly Society, and the Mothers' Tfcion respectively. The work of makSag them na earned oat at the Boyal School of Needlework. It would be diffietdt to find their equal for skill and feeanty of embroidery. The hearse doth, presented by the Acton' Church Union, ii another notable treasure, made of white silk and biasing with masses of heraldry in accordance with the precedent set by medieval examples. It forms a welcome contrast to those sombre trappings of woe soVdear to the heart of the eighteenth and nineteenth century undertaker. BUSEBABLE ACCOMMODATION. "Westminster Abbey possesses at the present time no fewer than six altars, the accumulated hangings and fron•fcals of which total a considerable number. Many are of great interest. Among them should be specially noted the frontal and dorsal offered in accordance with the directions of the rubric by «rar present King and Queen at their Coronation. ■ It is difficult within the compass of a single article to give at all an adequate account of the various instruments of worship possessed by "Westminster Abbey. So numerous are they that a description of them is in danger .of degenerating into a mere inventory; indeed, the various items set forth above do not constitute an; exhaustive account by any manner of means. There will be no difficulty at. all in filling the new Sacristy, which has been the subject of so much discussion of late. The miserable accommodation at present provided for the housing of all these beautiful works of art has been a weakness for many years past. The additional accommodation proposed is certainly not too great. It may even come to be outgrown at some date in a future by no means remote.