
A casting mould of a pilgrim flask with the depiction of St. Symeon Stylites the Younger
In this short paper a formerly unpublished casting valve for a metal eulogy ampulla from the museum of Gaziantep in southern Turkey will be presented. This casting mould by soap stone has an inscription as Eὐλογία [Κ]υρίου καίτοῦΑγίου [θαυματουρ]γού (eulogia of the Lord and saintly thaumaturgist- a performer of miracles). It also bears the depiction of St. Symeon Stylites the Younger from the sixth century A.D. and two knights riding mounts in a heraldic position on below. The mould at Gaziantep can be dated to the middle Byzantine period, more precisely to the period between A.D. 969 and 1074. For its size and the unusual scene of the two pilgrims (?) on horseback our matrix appears to be a unique one.
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