The Holy Grail

As a follow-up to Dan Brown's highly readable but also highly speculative descriptions, including that of the Holy Grail in his book The Da Vinci Code, I have recently heard of another claimant to this title, in the form of a highly prized artifact which is kept in the Schatzkammer or Treasury of Vienna's Hofburg Palace. This is an inalienable heirloom which has belonged to the Habsburg royal family since the 16th century. It is known as Die achat Schale, or the Agate Bowl, fashioned in rock-hard agate and measuring 58 to 58.5 cm with a 76 cm span including the handles. Its provenance is said to be from Constantinople (?) in the fourth century. Some believe this bowl to be the Holy Grail.

The following is a brief description.

The agate bowl was designated as "the best and most important piece in the treasury during the 17th century. Cut from a single massive block of hard stone, it is the largest gemmoglyptic (carved-stone) bowl in the world. The technical achievement of the gem cutter is incredible. The form of the bowl and the handles carved out of the stone look as though they were moulded out of pliable wax, although agate is harder than steel.

From the 17th to the 20th century various descriptions informed of a mysterious inscription, the name of Christ in Greek letters: XPICTO. It is not engraved or painted but appeared in the substance or the natural veining of the stone itself. Because of this inscription, the unique size and the masterful shaping of the stone, the sons of Emperor Ferdinand I decided in a heritage agreement in 1564 that the agate bowl (together with the Ainkhuern, the tusk of the narwhal, which Emperor Ferdinand I received as a gift from King Sigismund II of Poland) should be an inalienable heirloom of the house of Habsburg.

I was introduced to this most precious ancient heirloom by Gudrun Spiegler of Vienna, a recent visitor to Malta, who knows her city and its history thoroughly, including the history of the Archdukes of Austria, the Emperors of the Holy Roman Empire and Austria's two ruling dynasties: the Babenbergs and the Habsburgs. The Hofburg Palace Treasury is highly recommended to anyone visiting Vienna.