The Lost Code

Viaticum Container

Circa 1900
Varnished wood, glass, plaster, iron, brass, silver
H. 59.5 cm
W. 34.5 cm
Back when Catholic priests would visit homes to administer extreme unction to the dying, it was common practice to have a container on hand so that communion could also be given. In this case the container took the form of a frame with candlesticks surrounding a pieta made out of plaster. At the base of the frame with its depiction of the Last Supper are a holy water bottle, a paten upon which Christ's monogram IHS is inscribed, and a spoon.
Seigneurie des Aulnaies Collection

• The Good French Canadian