Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Pilgrim Flask of Saint Menas
(Roman Empire )
St. Menas is dressed in a soldier's tunic, his arms extended in the early Christian pose of prayer. The patron saint of merchants and caravans, he stands between two kneeling camels. St. Menas was martyred in AD 296 and buried in the desert west of Alexandria (in northern Egypt). Pilgrims came to the saint's shrine for the healing powers of its sacred oil, carried away in these small flasks.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Pete N. Nickolas (Helios Old World Antiquities), Westminster, Maryland, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1987, by purchase.
Exhibitions
| 2010-2011 | Treasures of Heaven. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland; The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore; The British Museum, London. |
Geographies
Egypt, Abu Mina (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 3 15/16 x W: 2 5/8 x D: 15/16 in. (9.95 x 6.65 x 2.38 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, 1987
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
48.2541