Artwork Page for Mold for a Eulogia (Blessing) Bread

Details / Information for Mold for a Eulogia (Blessing) Bread

Mold for a Eulogia (Blessing) Bread

600s-900s

Byzantium, Palestine, Byzantine period, 7th-10th century

Medium
wood
Measurements
Diameter: 8.8 x 1.9 cm (3 7/16 x 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
Thirty-fifth anniversary gift of Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mallon 1951.152
Public Domain
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Location
105 Byzantine
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Did You Know?

Medieval Christian pilgrims often traveled months or years to religious sites in the Holy Land and returned home with blessed mementos of their journey, such as vials of holy water, relics from saints, and even special loaves of bread. This mold was used to mark bread with an image of the Church of Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem; the bread was then distributed to pilgrims.

Description

It was a common early Christian practice to stamp images and inscriptions into loaves of bread using special molds. Representing the Church of the Holy Sepulcher on Mount Golgotha--the hill outside Jerusalem on which Christ was crucified and entombed--this wooden mold was probably used to stamp loaves of bread distributed to pilgrims visiting Jerusalem, in commemoration of their journey.
A circular light-brown wood disk is intricately carved with a low-relief architectural scene. A notched border encircles a building featuring a pitched roof, vertical columns, and a line of small arches. Centered above the roof sits a triangle containing a three-sided shape. A band of diamond cross-hatching lines the base. The wood exhibits visible grain and surface wear, including a small dark hole near the upper right edge.

Mold for a Eulogia (Blessing) Bread

600s-900s

Byzantium, Palestine, Byzantine period, 7th-10th century

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