HOLY GRAIL

New Zealand Times, Volume LI, Issue 12016, 19 December 1924, Page 11

HOLY GRAIL

PORTRAIT OF CHRIST. - .Has; the Holy Grail been found? There is" lying,at this moment in the vaults -of a New York bank a marvellously beautiful silver chalice of the first century* found at Antioch. This chalice encases a crude vessel of alloy.; Dr. Augustus Eigen, the American . archaeologist, as the result of ten years’ studies, ■- thirlks that this . jnav ■ be . tlie> actual cup of last supper, which' was:; the subject -of the mystic quest •of Arthur’s -knights—one of . the - greatest stories in .the world, and the- . inspiration of poets, artists • and musicianS from generation to generation. Out nr relief on; the chalice itself is a .wonderful portrait whic-h Dr; Risen thinks m that of. Christ .after the re--srujrection, ( and ?of which - he. gives -the following description:—‘‘A wonderful face such'- as no . artist has ever been 1 able to-create from - imagination, r. .■ •The expression of this - marvellously executed -face - seems to vibrato' with ecetasy. , The face is thin; elongated. ’ and tapering. . The chin -appears .beardless, - the . nose - almost- -straight

. . -The mouth, very beautiful. Above his .head are the Star and.the Dove,.-symbols of the Holy Spirit and •the- Nnti-sifcy. His ; right hand points to a plate with loaves and fishes,;- and belbff Him,-the Eagle of -the Roman Empire partakes, or the" blessings .of the Christian religion.!? . There*'; are several other portraits •which years- of study, have, led emi--nept, scholars rto believe are contemporary portraits of Christ, one as-a youth, aud the other at a later age,' of S.t. James the Less, and St. Jude, ■the, .two nearest relatives of Christ on earth, and, Of > six other Apotles and Evangelists. These figures,„ shown seated, are cut in high relief- into the metal -and- howl. Dr. Eisen places the date of the relic between 60 and 70. A.D., • and is; Convinced that'the portraits are authentic, afid were m&do when the personages were alive. Even - these archaeologists who are not prepared itoigo'so far ae Dr Eisen admit* -(states- v the -London ‘‘Daily News’’) that the-chalice is of the firstcentury, ; and that * his theory of itsorigin is by no means impossible; " , There ■< was recently brought - from America s- monograph in two folio volumes in which Dr. Eisen describes “The Great Chalice of Antioch.” -In it. he describes his 7-inch chalice, .and it represents ' tlio work of- ten years" arid" from every possible angle. A petition has been started for presentation to Mr G. Kouqhakji, of Paris, the owner of .the chalice, inviting him to present it either to Westminster Abbey qr to the (British Museum. There can be bo. question of' its sale. * ’Mr • Kouchnkil will either ; keep it himself or give 'it awaj/, and, bs -he is a Catholic, fhere is a possibility that he may present it to the Vaticani' !1 - a

Outside the circle of a- few archaeologists and churchmen the romantic, story of 'the finding of the chalice and its subsequent adventures has never been told, - It was' first discovered ( hy certain Arabs, who were .excavating the legendary site of an ancient cathc->. dral among the ruins of - the City of Antioch in-TPIO.' v ' •

• In some mysterious way thetreasure was carried into Mesopotamia, nnd after some years it was sold to the firm of Kpuchokji, of Paris. ’ Mr 0. Kouchakji; received it shortly before the outbreak of war. i It was not until it was cleaned 'and “deoxidised”,, by M; Androe, of' - Paris, that the tree value of the (malice was realised. At - the time of the Battle , of the Marne it was dispatched for ■ safety’s-sake tp .America. There it has remained ever since. Mr C. J. Healey, who has brought Dr. Ei/teu's monograph from . America) told the “Daily News” that Sir Kouchakji considers- the • chalice priceless-.

,A million dollars would not tempi him to part wijth it. “Antioch,” he said, “was the main centra of the early Christian Church • ■in the cast, following the fall of Jerusalem.- It was; here that the’‘ followers of Christ were first actually called Christians. '1 c. “It is assumed that this chalice was the.; great, treasure of,.the Basilica, Which .was begun by Constantine' the 'Great. -,''-. In the third century “the churches. were plundered, and Theodores .was martyred for his action in guarding.the Basilica treasures. Then, later, still, - the chalice, was probably hidden altogether from sacrilegious hands.” , • t Evidently, the early Christians who fashioned' this rich and Bplendid chalice attached the highest importance to the vessel which was kept inside it. Yet this, vessel is rough, and ifitririeically ,of no great' value. . There, fore it must hare been precious because of its. associations. Dr. Eisep suggests it was the cup of the Last; Supper,., which had been brought .by the early: Christians' from Jerusalem to Antioch.

The central theme of the great epic of the “Morte d’Arthor” is the quest of the grail which has become, surrounded with the most passionate aspirations of spiritual fervours and mysticism. Tn modern days Wagner’s sacred musio drama, “Parsifal,” has endeared jthis subject to. the hearts of thousands. ,