The nautilus chalice from the collection of the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Lutsk, Ukraine

The decorative chalice of a unique shape is made from the shell of a large marine cephalopod Nautilus pompilius. These shells were brought to Europe from the Indian and Pacific Oceans along with oriental spices, tea and Far Eastern porcelain. Nautilus chalices were made in goldsmiths’ workshops in Europe, most often in the major goldsmith centers such as Augsburg or Nuremberg, but also Danzig. Cups made of shells were luxurious, highly decorative wine goblets.
We do not know the origin of the chalice from the Lutsk Cathedral; it may have been a votive offering, given to the cathedral in Lviv or the Lutsk church with an important intention or in gratitude.
The Lutsk Cathedral holds a unique collection of items from closed and destroyed churches in the Lutsk and Lviv area. During World War II this part of the former Second Polish Republic, today's Ukraine, fell into Soviet hands, and the churches located there were closed, devastated and deliberately destroyed by the Soviet authorities. The Lutsk Cathedral shared the fate of many of them. The church, a Baroque post-Jesuit building, was turned into a coal depot in 1947, and in the 1980s the USSR authorities arranged a museum of atheism there, like in many historic churches. After the collapse of the USSR the cathedral became a Catholic church again. Thanks to the clergy of Lutsk, most notably Father Augustine Mednis, the sizable collection of paintings, liturgical objects, vestments and sculptures from various churches housed in the cathedral has been preserved to this day. In 2004 the Lutsk Diocesan Museum was established to care for this collection in the future.

Projects of POLONIKA Institute
2019 - Strategic Program RESEARCH - research and documentation of the collection at Lutsk Cathedral church
2021 - Strategic Program PROTECTION - 3D laser scanning of Lutsk Cathedral