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Pilgrim's Medallion with Saint Symeon the Younger
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
Saint Symeon the Younger was a stylite saint, an early Christian ascetic who fled the world for the desert and, perched on a column, spent his days fasting and praying. The site of Symeon’s column attracted many pilgrims during and after his lifetime. Medallions like this one, showing Symeon atop his column, were taken home by pilgrims in commemoration of their visit and were believed to serve their owners as protective talismans.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit linePilgrim's Medallion with Saint Symeon the Younger, c. 1100. Byzantium, Syria, Byzantine period, early 12th Century. Lead; diameter: 5.7 x 0.4 cm (2 1/4 x 3/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Norman O. Stone and Ella A. Stone Memorial Fund, 1972.52
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