It was discovered at the beginning of the 20th century and hailed as the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. Half a century after being redated to the 6th century, the exquisite silver treasure known as the Antioch Chalice is coming to Britain for the first time as part of an exhibition of the glories of Byzantium.

The Royal Academy of Arts said yesterday that the Antioch Chalice will be displayed alongside 300 objects that reflect the splendours of the Byzantine Empire. Icons, detached wall paintings, micro-mosaics and ivories, as well as gold and silver metalwork, will come from collections across Europe, the US, Russia, Ukraine and Egypt.

The chalice was discovered in about 1911 in Antioch (Antakya in modern-day Turkey), a city so important to early Christians that it was recognised with Rome and Alexandria as one of the great Sees of the Church. While the plain silver bowl was originally identified as the Holy Grail, its elaborate shell was at first thought to have been made within a century of the death of Christ to encase and honour it. Although the shell is now thought to have been made about AD500-550, the date of the bowl is unknown and the debate about whether it is the one used by Christ and His disciples has raged over the past century. The intricacy of the shell is extraordinary. Birds and animals including a spread-winged eagle, a lamb and a rabbit, as well as 12 human figures, are depicted. Two of the figures are thought to represent Christ.

The chalice will be coming to Britain on loan from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The exhibition, the first of Byzantine art in Britain for 50 years, has been co-curated by Professor Robin Cormack, from the Courtauld Institute, London. He said that many of the exhibits were so fragile that they were unlikely to travel again. “This will be the last time,” he said.

Byzantium 330-1453, a collaboration between the Royal Academy and the Benaki Museum, Athens, will run from October 25 until March 22, 2009. To book tickets, telephone: 0870 8488484 or www.royalacademy.org.uk

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