On view
European Art
Ampulla with Saint Andrew,
6th century
Early Byzantine, ca. 330–842
y1966-234
Pilgrimage and Portable Objects
These small, portable objects speak to the movement of people across expansive geographies over many centuries. Reliquaries and ampullae, or small flasks, contained physical reminders of pilgrimages to holy sites. Medallions, tokens, and amulets warded off perils on these arduous journeys and served as mementos of them.
Objects of personal adornment traveled with their wearers, but their materials also could connote distant places. Garnet, for example, came to Europe primarily via long-distance trade routes with South Asia, and glass imitating garnet was often made in Egypt and imported to Europe.
Information
Title
Ampulla with Saint Andrew
Dates
6th century
Medium
Terracotta
Dimensions
6.7 x 4.8; thickness 2 cm (2 5/8 x 1 7/8 x 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Louis C. West
Object Number
y1966-234
Place Made
Asia
Inscription
Inscription, either side of figure [see accession card for reproduction]
Period
Type
Materials
Subject
Acquired by Dr. Louis C. West at an unknown date and from an unknown source; given to the Museum in 1966.
- "Acquisitions 1965 and 1966," Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 26, no. 1 (1967): p. 2, 19-32., p. 24
- Slobodan Curcic and Archer St. Clair, Byzantium at Princeton: Byzantine art and archaeology at Princeton University: catalogue of an exhibition at Firestone Library, Princeton University, August 1 through October 26, 1986, (Princeton, NJ: Dept. of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University, The Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton University Library, Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections, 1986)., no. 171; p. 145
