ampulla
- Museum number
- 1875,0713.4
- Description
-
Ampulla; clay; flat, circular sides with designs in relief. On side (a), within a border of small studs, Saint Menas stands to front, his arms outstretched in blessing. He has a nimbus and curly hair, and wears a short tunic, and a cloak which is visible only where it crosses the shoulders. He is flanked by camels. On side (b), within a sunken border and a raised circle with four cardinally placed studs, is a relief inscription with a stud below, the details indistinct. Brown clay. There are remains of a white dressing, with traces of a turquoise blue paint on both sides.
- Production date
- 480-650 (circa)
- Dimensions
-
Height: 3.50 inches
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- Terracotta IV
Purchased: Greville J. Chester. Acquired in Alexandria.
The disc with Saint Menas, and the inscription, without its border, came from moulds that are products of the same archetypes that produced the relevant portions of the design of registration no. 1883,0621.52.
Late Roman, about AD 480-650.
Comparanda: Sides (a) and (b): near: Strzygowski 1904: pl. xxi:8973; Witt 2000: no. 36, dated end of fifth to mid-seventh century AD.
Side (a): close: Pagenstecher 1913: 93, fig. 106:11, from Alexandria. Near: Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, e.178.1891; Höber-Kamel 1997: 49.
Side (b): close: Kaufmann 1910: 159, fig. 93, from Abu Mena; Metzger 1981: no. 55b, from Alexandria, dated sixth to seventh century AD. Near: Witt 2000: no. 37, side B, from Alexandria, dated end of fifth to mid-seventh century AD.
- Location
- Not on display
- Condition
- Inscription obliterated.
- Acquisition date
- 1875
- Department
- Britain, Europe and Prehistory
- Registration number
- 1875,0713.4
