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Pilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
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’s own descriptionCredit linePilgrim's Flask with Saint Menas, 400–600. Egypt, Coptic period. Terracotta; overall: 6.7 x 7.2 cm (2 5/8 x 2 13/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Bruce Ferrini in memory of Robert P. Bergman, 1999.233
