The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 28, 2023

Pilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas

400–600

Egypt, Coptic, 400s-500s

Terracotta

Overall: 10.2 x 6.6 x 2.3 cm (4 x 2 5/8 x 7/8 in.)

Gift of Bruce Ferrini in memory of Robert P. Bergman 1999.230

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.

Citations
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
Exhibition history

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"

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.

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).

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).

Africa and Byzantium. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (November 13, 2023-March 3, 2024); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (April 14-July 21, 2024).

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