These images are provided for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons License (BY-NC-ND). To license a high resolution version, please contact our image library who will discuss fees, terms and waivers.
Download this imageCreative commons explained - what it means, how you can use our's and other people's content.
Steatite amulet of St Menas
Roughly rectangular stone amulet with a carved figure the full length of the front.
2 holes in top that connect to 2 holes in the back.
Proper right side: half size carved figure and the upper part of a second figure.
Proper left side: half size carved figure near the top. Under this it appears that the head of a second figure was scratched into the surface but it was never carved. This may be because the stone surface on the lower PL edge flaked away.
Incised ?Greek text on back and top.
Plaque, front with St.Menas, sides with saints, back inscribed. St. Menas was an Egyptian-born martyr. He served in the Roman army but left following an edict of the emperor Diocletian against the practice of Christianity. Following a declaration of his faith, Menas was tortured and beheaded in AD 295. He was a patron saint of travellers and was thus llinked to St. Christopher.
Depth: 1.5 cm
Length: 5.8 cm
Width: 3.2 cm
Method of acquisition: Given (1924) by Rogers, G. F., Dr
Coptic-Byzantine
500
CE
-
600
CE
mineral Steatite
Accession number: E.2.1924
Primary reference Number: 52307
Oldadmincategory: SS
Stable URI
Owner or interested party:
The Fitzwilliam Museum
Associated department:
Antiquities
This record can be cited in the Harvard Bibliographic style using the text below:
The Fitzwilliam Museum (2024) "Steatite amulet of St Menas" Web page available at: https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/52307 Accessed: 2024-11-21 23:16:40
To cite this record on Wikipedia you can use this code snippet:
{{cite web|url=https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/id/object/52307
|title=Steatite amulet of St Menas
|author=The Fitzwilliam Museum|accessdate=2024-11-21 23:16:40|publisher=The
University of Cambridge}}
To call these data via our API (remember this needs to be authenticated) you can use this code snippet:
https://collection.beta.fitz.ms/api/v1/objects/object-52307
To use this as a simple code embed, copy this string:
<div class="text-center"> <figure class="figure"> <img src="https://data.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk/imagestore/ant/ant16/E_2_1924_281_29.jpg" alt="Steatite amulet of St Menas" class="img-fluid" /> <figcaption class="figure-caption text-info">Steatite amulet of St Menas</figcaption> </figure> </div>
Updates about future exhibitions and displays, family activities, virtual events & news. You'll be the first to know...