Missal stand (atril)

Formed of five sheets of silver with a simple replaced wooden framework, the slanted central portion of the stand has been repousséd with an elliptical boss on which is chased the Jesuit seal containing the letters “IHS,” with a cross above and three nails below. Covered throughout with repousséd and chased decoration, the pattern is bilaterally symmetrical. Passion flowers and vines form the primary subject matter; a pair of "hombre verde," or green men, flank the Jesuit seal, and a pair of viscachas emerges from the greenery below the seal. An angel-like grotesquerie emerges from a foliate bud located centrally on the lower skirt of the stand. Cast sphinxlike creatures are affixed to the two front corners, and three small floral elements are attached to the stand’s upper edge.