Crazy unusual find (for me)-Antique Holy Oil,Maltese Cross-any info ?

Hello-I just found an antique 3 tier holy oil flask at a garage sale over the weekend ($2).I only know it's for holding anointing oil ,maybe for the Priest & Eucharist ?
Any info you've got about the way these were used would be most interesting-Thanks !
Specs-2 1/8" tall/no makers or assay marks/prob silver over brass/top cylinder is a replacement/poss hand-engraved ?/ Maltese cross cap-any significance ?)-Again Thanks.
PS-Do you like it polished or unpolished ?

 

Nice price, bosko.

A Maltese cross has 8 points, the ends of the limbs have a V-shaped cut out. So not a Maltese cross.

 

It appears to be wriggle engraved on the borders and next to the letters.

 

Thanks AJ-I was thrilled at the price & venue (garage sale) ! What kind of cross do you think it might be ? Wiki lists it as a 'Templar Cross' but that's probably historical *#@*. I'm trying to figure what part of the Catholic world this might have come from via the cross configuration.
PS-But,maybe Anointing (Holy) Oil was used by religions other than the Catholic Church ?

 

Roman Catholic, those are abbreviations of the Latin terms.
The cross shape is pretty generic. I have seen it in many Western Christian churches, but I have no reason to believe it is exclusively Western.

 

Holly-Thanks so much,I thought it might be hand-engraved too.Though why a seemingly inexpensive silver over brass piece would be is a mystery to me-unless it's rolled gold or thicker Sheffield plate ? Though perhaps Sheffield usually had copper under the silver ?

 

Thanks AJ,I thought Wiki a bit muddled on accurate cross attributions.
PS-In the more fantasy-driven collector's mind,everything's Templar !

 

Polished...!

 

Thanks for the vote Komo,plate or sterling's one thing we can still have fun polishing & not lose our shirt !

 

definitely polished, the inside looks lovely, so reckon the outer will be as well

 

Thanks again for the vote my friend-the old patina was way too mottled & grotty.

 

is it gilded on the inside ?

 

-yep,looks like fire gilded (?) gold.

 

Where did you get the religious connotation from?

 

I'm pretty sure we've seen this kind of thing before. For bringing the eucharist and and holy oil for anointing to a home visit for the sick.

 

That's what I was thinking. Some of them get decomissioned, as it were.

 

Similar cross on a Portuguese church


One of the SCs might be a replacement for an OI version:
I found this site:
https://tomperna.org/2015/03/31/an-explanation-of-the-sacramental-oils/
And it mentions these oils:
Oil of Catechumens (“Oleum Sanctorum“), Oil of the Sick (“Oleum Infirmorum“), and The Sacred Chrism (“Sacrum Chrisma“)

 

I scanned your article Marote- it's quite fascinating how each of the oils embody a different facet of the Trinity.Naturally the abbreviations represent Latin as you said-except mine has 2 'SC''s and only one 'OS',so I def agree w/ the replacement theory.

 

I made the mistake of listing a Sheriff's Badge on Ebay 20 years ago,bad idea-it had been stolen from an officer's cruiser & was still considered 'Active' (not 'Decommissioned').I had a phone call & subsequent visit from 2 officers within a day or two-I told them I picked it up at a local mall for $20 (think I still had the receipt).They had me turn over the badge,they were polite,but very,very serious and businesslike.
I was a middle-aged guy in the burbs and they left,no follow up.I did wonder for a few months if the phone might ring-but guess I seemed harmless to the 2 officers.It was definitely weird,and I was glad I hadn't shelled out $200-$300 for the piece.
PS-Obviously,at least back then- Ebay was extremely cooperative with law enforcement regarding stolen property.