Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Silver Chalice
(Byzantium and Early Russia)
State officials in the early Byzantine Empire often inspected newly made silver objects and stamped them to attest to the purity of the metal. Four such stamps on the bottom of this cup for Communion wine contain, together with the inspectors' names, the monograms of Emperor Justinian (ruled 527-65) and of his minister Peter (served 547-50). The donor of the chalice was a state official whose name is recorded in the text along the rim: "For the prayer and salvation of the imperial agent Symeonius and of his household."
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, ca. 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
| 2010-2011 | Wine and Spirit: Rituals, Remedies, and Revelry. Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, South Hadley; Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, Rochester. |
| 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. |
| 1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/1/1947 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 6/9/1959 | Examination | other |
| 10/1/1959 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 1/12/1985 | Technical Report | examined for technical study |
| 6/25/1985 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 9/19/1986 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 2/19/1988 | Examination | technical study |
| 2/20/1988 | Treatment | other |
| 11/14/1997 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 1/1/1999 | Loan Consideration | examined for exhibition |
| 5/31/2001 | Treatment | coated |
| 12/1/2007 | Examination | examined for condition |
Measurements
H at cup rim: 4 15/16 x Diam: 4 11/16 in. (12.5 x 11.9 cm); Diam at foot rim: 2 7/8 in. (7.3 cm)
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.
57.633