Ampulla of St. Menas.
Late 6th - Mid 8th c. CE.
Place of Origin: Abu Mena, Egypt.
Material: Ceramic.
Dimensions: 8.3 x 7.6 cm.
27.94.2 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Rogers Fund, 1927.
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/447995
By Maddie Fung This object is an ampulla, or flask of St. Menas, a small ceramic vessel intended to carry oil and water collected at the St. Menas shrine located outside of Alexandria, Egypt. Many ampullae like this one were produced on-location at the holy site for visiting pilgrims to purchase as a souvenir that could preserve the healing powers of the shrine. Therefore, this item represents many of the objects created at Christian holy sites and places of worship for specific use in religious practices. These Menas ampullae were specifically created for visiting pilgrims to carry oil and water, or even dirt and other natural materials collected at the holy sites to preserve its healing powers. This practice stemmed from the late antique belief that the miraculous powers of holy people, objects, and places could be transferred through physical contact.[1][D1] Therefore, the materials collected in these flasks would extend the healing power of the shrines within the blessed components themselves. These items produced at and taken from a holy site were called eulogia, or commonly known as “blessings.”[2] This specific flask depicts St. Menas flanked on each side by two kneeling camels and what is likely two crosses above each shoulder. This pattern is present on both the front and reverse of the flask, and represents the legend of St. Menas and his camels. Menas was born in Egypt, and became a Christian military officer in Asia Minor during the 3rd century.[3] During the persecution of Christians under the emperor Diocletian, Menas refused to denounce his Christian faith and was eventually tortured and martyred. Other Christian soldiers recovered his body and ordered it to be transported back to Egypt. According to the legend, the camels carrying the body of St. Menas at one point refused to move. This was interpreted as a sign of divine intervention, and St. Menas’s body was buried at this location. [4] St. Menas acquired a reputation for his miraculous healing powers in the 4th century.[5] And the shrine at his tomb attracted countless pilgrims drawn to these healing abilities. Subsequently, the city of Abu Mena formed around the pilgrimage site. The flask depicts St. Menas in the orans posture, which was commonly associated with praying and Christian practices in late antiquity. Though many versions of the flask and other forms of art depict Menas in extensive military attire to accentuate his role as a soldier,[6] this specific flask mainly emphasizes the religious aspects of St. Menas with the orans posture and cross depictions. The flask not only depicts religious images, but was also produced and used at Christian places of worship. The exact creation date of this flask is unknown, but was probably made during the late 6th – mid 8th century CE.[7] The flask was created in a pottery workshop located in Abu Mena, Egypt. It was formed by casting two separate clay halves in a mold, joining the two sides to create a closed vessel, and then adding handles and a neck by hand.[8] The use of pottery molds allowed the mass-production of these flasks, and this ability for mass-production suggested a commercial aspect to these flasks. Several ampullae exist of varying quality, yet all flasks were created with reusable molds. Therefore, the pottery shops likely created many versions of these molds and flask designs in order to cater to the large variety of pilgrims belonging to different socioeconomic statuses. Many would purchase the flasks on site at the shrine with an intention to use the object as a blessing. These purchased flasks would then naturally disseminate as the pilgrims brought them back to their home. But pilgrim flasks were also considered luxury goods that were extensively traded between the east and west.[9] The flasks were considered luxury goods because they had little intrinsic worth or practical use yet high symbolic value, though some would still purchase Menas flasks for their miraculous powers. Numerous Menas flasks were later excavated or discovered throughout Egypt, the Mediterranean, Asia Minor, and Europe.[10] This vast dissemination of ampullae emphasizes both the extensive distances pilgrims traveled to reach the shrine, but also the degree of trade, since clusters of flasks were often discovered along pre-existing trade routes. In late antiquity, blessings in general were seen as any product of God’s bounty, and became the foundation of the early religious economy.[11] The mass production of these pilgrim flasks enabled both the early commercialization of religious objects through trade networks, but mainly supplied the multitude of pilgrims visiting the holy sites to purchase blessings and preserve the healing power of the shrine of St. Menas. Though these pilgrims’ flasks eventually disseminated across the world, this flask contributes to this collection of late antique objects in places of worship because the production and intended use of these flasks occurred on site of the St. Menas healing shrine. Pottery shops commonly existed at various Christian shrines during late antiquity in order to supply pilgrims with the supplies they needed to give votive offerings and preserve the healing powers of the shrine. So not only does this flask represent late antique Christian beliefs and practices, but its inherent purpose and function was to be used at these holy places of worship. People from all over the world with various cultural experiences visited this specific shrine, representing the integrative nature of late antique religion. The act of leaving votive offerings and taking blessings from shrines also borrowed aspects of classical pagan practices, further illustrating the influence of different ideologies on the specific practices of one religion. This integration is indicative of this collection of items from places of worship during late antiquity. Overall, this flask represents the many objects created at Christian holy sites and places of worship for specific use in late antique religious practices.
[1] Gary Vikan, "Art, Medicine, and Magic in Early Byzantium," Dumbarton Oaks Papers 38 (1984): 65-86.
[2] William Anderson, “Menas Flasks in the West,” Ancient West & East 6, (2007): 221-43.
[3] Nader Alfy Zekry, "The Iconography of St. Menas in the Coptic Art." Journal of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels 1, no. 2, (2017): 37-52.
[5] Margaret English Frazer, and Kurt Weitzmann, Age of Spirituality: Late Antique and Early Christian Art Third to Seventh Century (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1977).
[6] Zekry,. "The Iconography of St. Menas,” 37-52.
[7] "Ampulla (Flask) of Saint Menas.” Metropolitan Museum of Art.
[8] William Anderson, "An Archaeology of Late Antique Pilgrim Flasks," Anatolian Studies 54, (2004): 79-93.
[11] Daniel Caner, "Towards a Miraculous Economy: Christian Gifts and Material "Blessings" in Late Antiquity" Journal of Early Christian Studies 14, no. 3, (2006): 329-77.