17th Century German Ecclesiastical Ciborium with Maltese Cross Finial

• Finial - An architectural decoration, found on the upper parts of of an object. On furniture they are usually found on pediments, canopies and shelf supports. On smaller ceramic or silver items, such as spoons, they may decorate the top of the item itself, or the lid or cover where they provide a useful handle for removal.
  
  Finials have a variety of shapes and forms. They may be urn-shaped, baluster shaped round or spiral, but usually taper into an upper point. Many real life shapes may also be used as finials, such as pineapples, berries, pinecones, buds, lotus and acorns. Sometimes animals such as a lion are depicted, or fish and dolphins.

This item has been included into following indexes:

• ciborium / communion cups - silver items 10
• pendants and lockets, design - cross and cruciform 424
• religious objects, Christian
  • altar vases, chalices, ewers and ciborium 50
  • communion and sacrament items 35