The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

Pilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas

Pilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas

400–600 CE
Overall: 10.2 x 6.6 x 2.3 cm (4 x 2 5/8 x 7/8 in.)
Location: not on view

Description

These flasks bear the image of Saint Menas, an early martyr of the Christian Church whose shrine was in the desert southwest of Alexandria in Egypt. These flasks were probably used by pilgrims to hold oil taken from the lamp that burned over this saint's tomb. Probably manufactured near the shrine, pilgrim's flasks often bear decorations hinting at their place of origin, as is the case here.
  • Cleveland Museum of Art, “Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Rare Chinese Paintings, Baroque Porcelain Plaque and Other New Acquisitions Exhibited with Hanging Scrolls,” December 20, 1999, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 58-59, no. 12
    Bagnoli, Martina. Treasures of heaven: saints, relics, and devotion in medieval Europe. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2010. Reproduced: cat. no. 22, p. 43
    Achi, Andrea Myers, et al. Africa and Byzantium. New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 54-55, no. 16
  • CMA, October 17, 2010 - January 17, 2011, Walters Art Museum February 13 - May 15, 2011: "Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe," cat. no. 22.
    Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 17, 2010-January 17, 2011); The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (February 13-May 15, 2011).
    Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).
    Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007), the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008) and Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (2/13/2009 - 6/7/2009): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
  • {{cite web|title=Pilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas|url=false|author=|year=400–600 CE|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.230