The "instrumentum pacis," "pax brede" or "pax" has various names, but its function is always the same: it is a small hand held tablet used as a way of passing the liturgical sign of peace amidst the clerics within the context of the Mass. (For more details on the use and history of this liturgical object, see our article, The Pax (Osculatorium or Tabula Pacis). Most often these pax instruments contain images of Christ or the Madonna and Child, but we can also find various examples that feature saints, including numerous examples containing the images of Ss. Peter and Paul.
Given that we have only recently celebrated the Feast of Ss. Peter and Paul (and yet still sit within that feast's traditional octave, so important was it in the Roman liturgical calendar) it provides a great opportunity to display a few of these odds and ends where we might otherwise not.
Most of the examples found here will date from the 1600's and 1700's, but obviously the pax instrument's use extends both before and after those centuries -- though in modern times its use has become quite rare, much like spotting the "praegustatio" pre-tasting rites in a Pontifical Mass.
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| 19th cent. |
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| Milanese, 17th cent. |
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| Tuscany, 1690-1710 |
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| Bergamo, 1750-1799 |
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| Sicily, 17th cent. |
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| Venice, 1731 |
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| Neopolitan, 1760-1770 |
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| 17th cent. |
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