Pilgrim Flask with Scenes of St. Menas

Pilgrim Flask with Scenes of St. Menas

Pilgrim Flask with Scenes of St. Menas, Byzantine, Egypt, 4th-7th century, mold-made terracotta, 8.5 x 6.8 x 2.3 cm, Cambridge, MA, Harvard Art Museums.

Museum Commentary: “Flasks bearing images of Saint Menas are not uncommon in Egypt. Menas was a Roman soldier who was martyred; veneration of him as a saint centered on an oasis near Alexandria. On better-preserved ampullae bearing the same scene, the details of Menas' clothing (tunic, boots, and cloak, perhaps in the style of the later Roman military) are much clearer; the border type varies between the dot/stud motif and chevrons. Some examples bear inscriptions or depictions of crosses above the saint's arms.”

https://hvrd.art/o/77733

Harvard Art Museums. 1978.495.200