Vintage Silver Plated Ecclesiastical Pyx Box - Canterbury Cross Design

This is a fine and heavy quality example of a pyx box for housing wafers. The box is made in the fairly recognisable way, with a slightly concave base, and a hinged lid. The inside is gilt finished, which is not only a sign of quality, but serves the practical purpose of protecting the silvered surface against any adverse reactions (which might damage silver). The lid is finely engraved with a Canterbury Cross, one of several Christian crosses used on boxes of this nature. The only marks to be found are a small number 2 punched to the inside of the lid, and the same to the underside of the base. This is likely to relate to the manufacturing process, with the two numbered halves being matched up for a perfect fit. I’ve described the box as silver plated, but it has the feel and weight of silver, plus the quality to match. If it’s silver plated then it certainly has no loss of finish, and where there are contact lines to the base from sitting on a surface, there is no copper or other metal showing through. I’ve sold many pieces of ecclesiastical silver over the years, and invariably they often go back into use with the clergy. To buy a brand new piece matching this quality from a specialist supplier, even in silver plate would cost a three figure sum, hence pre-uses pieces like these are great value. Without further marks to the box it’s difficult to put a definitive date on the item, but it’s similar to silver examples I’ve seen that date from the 1920’s or 1930’s, with some having been made in the mid 20th century.