Priv.-Doz. MMag. Dr.
Austrian Archaeological Institute at the Austrian Academy of Sciences
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Early Byzantine Ampullae from Asia Minor: The iconography of selected examples.
Numerous pilgrim souvenirs have been preserved from late antiquity / early Byzantine times. The best known are without a doubt those from St. Menas from northern Egypt, the ampoules and amulets from the Holy Land and finally the small vials from Asia Minor. These are characterized by a great variety of different motifs - they are non-figural-symbolic representations such as crosses and rosettes and figural motifs including some animals such as zebus or birds. In addition, numerous examples with representations of anthropogenic figures have been preserved. These can be divided into persons known from the Old and New Testaments. But there are also various representations of non-biblical saints. As part of the lecture, selected pilgrim flasks with a special type of representation will be presented and it will be examined whether their relief decoration refers directly to Ephesus and its various saints, in particular to St. John and his basilica.