Amuletsthe gallery← amulets.guru
Byzantine, Coptic & Early Christian · c. 300 – 1453

Pilgrim flasks & eulogia tokens

Meaning

A eulogia ('blessing') was a portable piece of a holy place: oil from a saint's lamp, water from a holy well, or earth from where a saint lived, carried in a flask or pressed into a stamped token. The holiness came from contact.

Intent

Pilgrims took them home for healing, protection and blessing: oil rubbed on the sick, tokens dissolved in water and drunk, flasks hung in houses. The image of the saint (Menas between camels, Symeon on his pillar) identified the source.

Significance

Pilgrim souvenirs are the ancestors of medieval pilgrim badges and modern holy water bottles. The St Menas flasks, found from Britain to Russia, map the reach of early Christian pilgrimage.

History

St Menas flasks were made at Abu Mena near Alexandria from about 480 to the mid-7th century. Symeon tokens come from Qal'at Sim'an in Syria (5th–6th century), and Monza's lead ampullae from Jerusalem date to c. 600.

Making yours
Menas flasks are 8–15 cm, mould-made in two halves of buff clay, with the saint between two kneeling camels. Tokens are 2–4 cm stamped clay discs.
Byzantine, Coptic & Early Christian: the tradition

Early Christians inherited the full Roman amulet tradition, and church leaders fought it for centuries. John Chrysostom mocked mothers who tied bells and coins on babies, and the Council of Laodicea (c. 363) banned clergy from making phylacteries. Instead of disappearing, amulets were Christianised: Solomon became the demon-binder, saints replaced heroes, and relics, holy oil and earth from pilgrimage shrines became the most powerful protection of all. Byzantine amulets combined Greek magical formulas with the cross, the Trisagion and saints' names. The tradition fed Russian, Georgian, Armenian and Ethiopian Christian amulets and the pilgrimage souvenirs of medieval Europe.

See all 58, save the ones that feel rightAsk about having one made
MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Pilgrim Flask of Saint MenasPilgrim Flask of Saint Menas6 th century date QS:P571,+550-00-00T00:00:00Z/7 (Late Antique)MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1200Pilgrim Flask with Saint MenasPilgrim Flask with Saint Menas4th–7th centuryMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Asia minore, ampolla da pellegrino (eulogiai) con santo a braccia aperte, forse mena d'egitto, VI secolo dcAsia minore, ampolla da pellegrino (eulogiai) con santo a braccia aperte, forse mena d'egitto, VI secolo dcMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1350Pilgrim Flask with Saint MenasPilgrim Flask with Saint Menas4th–7th centuryMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1250Egitto, fiaschetta da pellegrino con san menas tra due dromedari, dal santuario di san mena, VII secoloEgitto, fiaschetta da pellegrino con san menas tra due dromedari, dal santuario di san mena, VII secoloMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Pilgrim flask St. Menas Louvre MN1469Pilgrim flask St. Menas Louvre MN14696 th century date QS:P571,+550-00-00T00:00:00Z/7 –7 th century date QS:P571,+650-00-00T00:00:00Z/7MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Asia minore, ampolla da pellegrino (eulogiai) con san mena d'egitto tra dromedari, VI secolo dcAsia minore, ampolla da pellegrino (eulogiai) con san mena d'egitto tra dromedari, VI secolo dcMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Ampulla (Flask) with Saint MenasAmpulla (Flask) with Saint Menaslate 6th–mid-8th centuryMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Carnavalet - ampoule de Saint-Ménas (AC1000-454)Carnavalet - ampoule de Saint-Ménas (AC1000-454)MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Meydum and Memphis (III) (1910) (14593335630)Meydum and Memphis (III) (1910) (14593335630)MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150BMVB - àmfora - 3874BMVB - àmfora - 3874MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1350Egitto copto, ampolla di san menas, da Akhmim, VI-VII secEgitto copto, ampolla di san menas, da Akhmim, VI-VII secMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Egyptian pilgrim flask, Qustul, Cemetery V, tomb VC48, New Kingdom, reigns of Amenhotep II to Post-Amarna Period, 1427-1327 BC, ceramicEgyptian pilgrim flask, Qustul, Cemetery V, tomb VC48, New Kingdom, reigns of Amenhotep II to Post-Amarna Period, 1427-1327 BC, ceramicMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Saint Menas ampulla Chassey-lès-MontbozonSaint Menas ampulla Chassey-lès-MontbozonMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1350St Menas flasks NationalmuseetSt Menas flasks NationalmuseetMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1250Tanta Museum 100Tanta Museum 100MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Flask of St. Mena - 5-7th century AD - Museo Archeologico - Milan 2014 (2)Flask of St. Mena - 5-7th century AD - Museo Archeologico - Milan 2014 (2)MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Pilgrim Flask (6th c. CE) (15128188467)Pilgrim Flask (6th c. CE) (15128188467)MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Tanta Museum 117Tanta Museum 117MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Carnavalet - ampoule de Saint-Ménas (AC660)Carnavalet - ampoule de Saint-Ménas (AC660)MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Egitto copto, ampolla da pellegrino (eulogiai) con san mena d'egitto tra due cammelli, dal santuario di san mena ad abu mena, VII secolo dcEgitto copto, ampolla da pellegrino (eulogiai) con san mena d'egitto tra due cammelli, dal santuario di san mena ad abu mena, VII secolo dcMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150St Menas 08 Koblenz 2013St Menas 08 Koblenz 2013MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1150Ampolla de sant Menna, museu d'Història de ValènciaAmpolla de sant Menna, museu d'Història de ValènciaMEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1350Ampulla Menas Louvre AF7035Ampulla Menas Louvre AF7035MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1100Eulogy ampulla Louvre MNC 1926Eulogy ampulla Louvre MNC 1926MEDIEVAL AMPULLAMEDIEVAL AMPULLAUnited Kingdom · 1250Tanta Museum 118Tanta Museum 118Flask of St. Mena - 5-7th century AD - Museo Archeologico - Milan 2014Flask of St. Mena - 5-7th century AD - Museo Archeologico - Milan 2014Pilgrim Flask TamperePilgrim Flask TamperePottery pilgrim bottle, for storing water from the spring of Saint Menas. Byzantine period. From Alexandria, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, LondonPottery pilgrim bottle, for storing water from the spring of Saint Menas. Byzantine period. From Alexandria, Egypt. The Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology, LondonSaint Menas flask (5-6th-century AD) - Musei Civici Eremitani - Padua 2016Saint Menas flask (5-6th-century AD) - Musei Civici Eremitani - Padua 2016Tanta Museum 116Tanta Museum 116Terracotta flask depicting a gladiatorial scene, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8119453806)Terracotta flask depicting a gladiatorial scene, Romisch-Germanisches Museum, Cologne (8119453806)

More from Byzantine, Coptic & Early Christian: Holy Rider & Solomon amulets · Encolpia & reliquary crosses · Other & unsorted Byzantine
Every type in the gallery

Anything in the gallery can be made: any piece, any tradition, in its own material or yours, by hand from the documented original. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted before anything is made. I reply within one business day.