Monstrance

Goldsmith Manuel Álvares (attributed) (Lisbon hallmark “AM”; M.A. L-126)

Portugal, Lisbon

1690 - 1720

Silver-gilt, glass, colourless gemstones

The monstrance or ostensorium is the liturgical object designed for the exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The consecrated host, put in the lunette (the glass receptacle in the middle of the monstrance), is Christ Himself - body, blood, soul and divinity - Who mysteriously makes Himself present in the Bread and Wine, and as a consequence, close to those who follow Him.

The Eucharistic devotion pervades the en See more