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Medieval silver gilt chalice
A silver gilt chalice with the bowl supported on a stem with a large central knop and spreading foot. The stem is engraved with stiff-stalked trefoil leafwork. The foot is worked with rows of downward-radiating trefoil leaves, and engraved with leafwork. The underside of the foot is inscribed NICOL’VS• ME •••FECIT• DE• HERFORDIE (‘Nicholas of Hereford made me’).
Llywelyn Fawr’s Wales was divided into those who ruled, those who worked and those who prayed. Abbeys were a powerful force. Even Llywelyn himself ‘received the monastic habit’ at Aberconwy Abbey in 1240, to absolve his sins. Medieval rulers and lords commissioned works of art for their castle chapels and abbeys. The Dolgellau chalice was made when Llywelyn ruled independent Wales. According to the Latin inscription, the chalice was made by Nicholas of Hereford.
WA_SC 17.1
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Site Name: Dolgellau, Gwynedd
Notes: Discovered on 13 February 1890 by Griffith Griffiths and Ellis Jones, while returning from work, prospecting for manganese on steep boulder-strewn ground on the east side of Cwm-Mynach, above Dolgellau. In 1910, they were awarded to the Sovereign after a belated Treasure Trove inquest. They were then placed on loan by King George V to the National Museum.