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Spoon
(Byzantium and Early Russia)
In the Christian East, priests and lay people have always taken Communion with both bread and wine (in the medieval West, wine was reserved for the clergy). The bread is soaked in the wine and presented to the worshipers with spoons like this one. Its inscription, "For the prayer of Heliodorus," shows that such gifts to a church were seen as permanent, material prayers for one's salvation. The church at Kaper Koraon, a relatively small settlement in Byzantine Syria, owned numerous silver vessels, of which 56 survive. A holy oil bottle and a chalice were also donated by the same Heliodorus.
Inscription
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.
[Excavated in Syria, 1908-1910]; Tawfic Abucasem, Hama and Port Said, ca. 1913, by purchase; Joseph Brummer, Paris, ca. 1928, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1929, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2008-2009 | Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Museum of Biblical Art, New York; Colby College Museum of Art, Waterville; Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha. |
| 2002-2005 | Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville. |
| 2001-2002 | Realms of Faith: Medieval and Byzantine Art from the Walters Art Museum. Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville. |
| 1986 | Silver Treasure from Early Byzantium. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1984-1985 | Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Measurements
1 x 7 1/16 in. (2.5 x 18 cm) (h. x l.);
bowl: 1 7/16 in. (3.7 cm) (w.)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1929
Location in Museum
Not on view
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.
57.651