Couple Of Agnus Dei Of The Pontificate Of Paul V

17th century, 1617-1618

Couple of Agnus Dei of the pontificate of Paul V

(2) Ovals in wax and frames in gilded wood, cm 59 x 43

Rare conventual sui generis artefact, the Agnus Dei is a wax disc on which is printed, on the recto, the portrait of some saint or exceptionally scenes of life of Christ, while on the verso the apocalyptic Lamb, canonical symbol of Christ. It was born in the fifth century, when, on the occasion of the Ascension, within all the Roman churches, the Easter candle was manually pressed into minute pieces for distribution to the faithful, after the Eucharistic celebration. The first documents attesting to the actual blessing of the individual fragments date only from the 9th century during the Carolingian cultural amalgamation; however, the practice had to be established since the 5th century. With the passing of decades, the primitive fraction was replaced by the section of the candle in discs, which were not immediately distributed but rather retained to print on both sides the above images. These Agnus Dei were blessed by the same pope, only in the first and then every seven years of his pontificate, formerly on Holy Saturday, then in the week in albis or on Easter Wednesday; they were therefore made with the wax of the Petrine Easter Candle, or other Roman basilicas. Formerly, in the manufacture of the sacred discs was added the Holy Chrism; made at first by the apostolic sub-deacons, then by the papal Sacristan, Clement VIII (1592-1605) he ordered that the manufacture became the responsibility of the Cistercians of the Monastery of Santa Pudenziana and San Bernardo at the Terme di Roma. The exclusivity then passed to the Monastery of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme when the congregation of these monks, the reformed ones of San Benedetto called Foglianti, was added to the larger one of the Cistercians of San Bernardo in Italy (1802). The realization of Agnus Dei ceased on the occasion of Vatican II.The most important museum and private collections host today Agnus Dei realized during the pontificates of Innocent XI (1676-1689), Clement XI (1700-1721) and Benedict XIII (1724-1730); the present therefore acquire extraordinary value of historical testimonycultural, having been ordered by Paolo V Borghese (1605-1621), as denounced by the perimeter inscriptions on the front and back and by the papal symbol.

Both discs offer on the verse the image of the mystical Lamb in the Book of Revelation or Gospel, whose cover is depicted as a plate: The Flesh of Christ therefore rests on the Word of God, concentrating the highest trinitarian meaning, where the Word is also to be understood as the Holy Spirit. The lamb is also depicted accompanied by a crucified nimbus and the banner of Christ’s victory over death, with red cross in white field. Below triumphs the coat of arms of Paul V framed by the petrine keys crossed with winged dragon in the bottom and in the top an eagle with extended wings. L’iscrizione che corre sul perimetro recita “ECCE - A - DEI - QVI - TOL – PEC – MVND / PAVLVS - V - PONT – M”, ovvero Ecce Agnus Dei Qui tollit peccata mundi / Paulus V pontifex maximus, mentre in esergo si riporta l’anno di benedizione, “AN - XIIII”, that is the fourteenth year of the pontificate of Paul V which, including the first, fell in 1618, therefore on the occasion of the third blessing of Agnus Dei officiated by the pope (in the first year, 1605; after seven, 1611; after seven others, 1618).
The front of the first Agnus Dei depicts the Crucifixion, with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist seated at the sides of the cross, while Magdalene is kneeling near the skull of Adam. The perimeter inscription shows "O - C[? ]SV[? ] crux AB ORIGIN[E] crux MV[x][ND] crux PAVLV[S V] P - M - A - XIIII, recalling again in the legible line ab origine mundi / Paulus V pontifex maximus - anno XIIII the pauline origin. On the front of the other Agnus Dei is instead a suggestive blessing given by Christ protruding from the cross itself, helping two small angels, towards a saint kneeling in prayerful attitude.