St Menas ampulla
Ampulla
late 6th century - mid 7th century (made)
late 6th century - mid 7th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Flasks such as these were used by pilgrims to Egypt, in order to bring home oil or water that they collected when visiting the pilgrimage saint for Saint Menas, at Abu Mena. Saint Menas is belived to have been a third Century Roman soldier, martyred for his Christian faith. He is typically depicted, as on this flask, with both arms raised, the traditional pose of an <i>orant</i>. He is also commonly shown flanked by a pair of camels, who as the story goes, returned his body for burial.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | St Menas ampulla (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | Moulded unglazed earthenware |
| Brief description | Moulded unglazed earthenware flask with depiction of St Menas, from Egypt, Abu Mena (near Alexandria), late 6th-mid 7th Century AD |
| Physical description | Unglazed buff earthenware, circular in form with two flat faces, a bevelled edge, and a short, tapering neck. A pair of loop handles join just below the lip and on the shoulder. The moulded decoration, identical on both faces, depicts St. Menas, dressed in chalmys and tunic, in the orant pose with raised arms. He is flanked by reverential, kneeling camels and two groups of four dots (crosses?) . The entire image is set within a circular pearled border. |
| Dimensions |
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| Styles | |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by Dr. W. L. Hildburgh |
| Object history | This ampulla is typical of those made at the monastery of Abu Menas, south of Alexandria in Egypt. Pilgrims would take them home filled with water from the miraculous spring, holy oil from the lamp hanging above the saint's shrine or dust sanctified by contact with the shrine. Given the popularity of the pilgrimage site, these ampullae are found in archaeological deposits across Europe, carried far and wide by pilgrims, hence its exact modern provenance remains unknown. |
| Historical context | Compare this piece with fig 33. in Kaufmann, CM, Zur Ikonographie der Menas-Ampullen. Mit besonderer Beru¨cksichtigung der Funde in der Menasstadt, nebst einem einfu¨hrenden Kapitel u¨ber die neuentdeckten nubischen und aethiopischen Menastexte pp. 185. Cairo, 1910 |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | Flasks such as these were used by pilgrims to Egypt, in order to bring home oil or water that they collected when visiting the pilgrimage saint for Saint Menas, at Abu Mena. Saint Menas is belived to have been a third Century Roman soldier, martyred for his Christian faith. He is typically depicted, as on this flask, with both arms raised, the traditional pose of an <i>orant</i>. He is also commonly shown flanked by a pair of camels, who as the story goes, returned his body for burial. |
| Associated object | C.176-1926 (Version) |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | C.79-1953 |
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| Record created | September 19, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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