A CHINESE BLUE-AND-WHITE PORCELAIN JAR WITH THE IHS INSIGNIA

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Pale white body with centrally an IHS medallion encircled by a halo.
 

H. 13 cm

Note:

These small Chinese porcelain jars in blue and white decoration with the IHS insignia were commissioned by the Jesuits for their churches and colleges in Macao and China. Since early Christian times, many abbreviations of the name of Jesus Christ existed, such as IC, XC, XPS and IHS. IHS comes from the Latinized capitals of the first three letters of the Greek word for Christ. The first known use of the IHS abbreviation is from the 8th century.

After Ignatius of Loyola, founder and general of the Society of Jesus, adopted the monogram IHS in his seal in 1541 it became the emblem of the Jesuits.