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Details / Information for Pilgrim’s Flask

Pilgrim’s Flask

c. 1099–1200
Medium
lead
Measurements
Overall: 4.3 x 2.9 cm (1 11/16 x 1 1/8 in.)
Public Domain
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Description

After the Crusader conquest of the Holy Land in 1099, Jerusalem experienced a revival of Christian pilgrimage. During the 12th century, the Church of the Holy Sepulcher was rebuilt, redecorated, and reconsecrated. With the influx of new pilgrims, especially from Western Europe, lead ampullae (small flasks) such as this very rare example were briefly reintroduced. The flask was cast with images of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and Christ’s Descent into Limbo (Anastasis), establishing a visual connection with the holy sites of Christ’s death and entombment.
A dark gray, heavily pitted lead flask features a bulbous body and a short, cylindrical neck encircled by horizontal ridges. One of the two small loop handles on the shoulder is broken. Faint, raised relief designs on the body depict a central figure. The weathered surface is coarse-textured throughout. The vessel has a slightly flattened bottom and casts a soft shadow to its right against a gray background.

Pilgrim’s Flask

c. 1099–1200

Byzantium, Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem, Palestine, Byzantine, Crusader Period, late 11th-12th Century

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