This art and explanation were sent to an SCA-related yahoo list discussing subtleties: foods made to look like things. Sometimes one food made to look like another food (illusion foods), but food as art, from the Middle Ages and Renaissance.

Below is the description by the artist.

Yes, it's the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch and its box, from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The grenade itself is rolled fondant around a 5" styrofoam ball, sprayed with edible gold spray paint and decorated with a sugarpaste cross and royal icing pearls (piped at midnight, so not as neat as I'd like).

The box is carved from 4 stacked 10x15" cakes, constructed as 2 tiers in different flavors. When it was time to serve it, I just had to lift off the 'lid' of the box to be cut separately and remove the supports from the lower cake. It's iced in chocolate buttercream and the embellishments are chocolate fondant.

Not at all period, but fun, and at least one person walked by it several times without realizing it was a cake, which is always rewarding.

-Magda-

Lady Magdalena Vogelsang
Barony of Cynnabar, Midream
http://www.geocities.com/magdacakes

(see other cakes Magda has made at that last link!)