The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 12, 2024

Pilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas

Pilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas

400–600 CE
(Egypt)
terracotta
Overall: 10 x 6.4 cm (3 15/16 x 2 1/2 in.)
Gift of Bruce Ferrini in memory of Robert P. Bergman 1999.231
Location: 105 Byzantine

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
    Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 10-13; Reproduced: p. 11
    Achi, Andrea Myers, et al. Africa and Byzantium. New York : The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2023. Mentioned and reproduced: pp. 54-55, no. 15
  • Africa & Byzantium. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (November 14, 2023-March 3, 2024); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (co-organizer) (April 14-July 21, 2024).
  • {{cite web|title=Pilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas|url=false|author=|year=400–600 CE|access-date=12 September 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1999.231