These well-wrought liturgical objects-chalices, censers, a strainer, and a representation of the dove of the Holy Spirit-were among the possessions of a Christian church in the affluent merchant town of Attarouthi in Syria, then one of the richest lands of the Byzantine empire. The chalices, censers, and strainer were used for the Divine Liturgy, or Eucharist service, in which Christians take consecrated wine and bread in commemoration of the Last Supper and Christ's death. According to their inscriptions, written in Greek with several spelling variants, many of the objects were offerings of local citizens to the major church of the town, which was dedicated to Saint Stephen, and to a smaller church dedicated to Saint John (probably Saint John the Baptist). In the early seventh century, Syria fell first to the Sasanian Persians and then to the armies of Islam. These works were probably buried in haste in a protective container at some moment when the Byzantine army was retreating from attacks on the region.
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Artwork Details
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Title:The Attarouthi Treasure - Chalice
Date:500–650
Geography:Made in Attarouthi, Syria
Culture:Byzantine
Medium:Silver and gilded silver
Dimensions:Overall: 6 15/16 x 9 3/8 x 5 11/16 in. (17.6 x 23.8 x 14.4 cm) Diam. of foot: 3 9/16 in. (9.1 cm) Diam. of knop: 1 5/8 in. (4.2 cm)
Classification:Metalwork-Potin
Credit Line:Purchase, Rogers Fund and Henry J. and Drue E. Heinz Foundation, Norbert Schimmel, and Lila Acheson Wallace Gifts, 1986
Accession Number:1986.3.6
Inscription: In Greek: “For the repose of the soul of Anastasia and the salvation of John, Deacon of St. Stephan of the village of Attarathion”;
From Attarouthi, Syria; [ Elias Bustros, Beirut (by 1940)]; [ Sleiman Abou Taam, Beirut and Switzerland (1965–1986)]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Byzantium and Islam: Age of Transition," March 14–July 8, 2012.
Frazer, Margaret English. "Silver Liturgical Objects from Attarouthi in Syria." In Byzantine Studies Conference Abstracts of Papers. Vol. 14. Madison, Wisconsin: Byzantine Studies Conference, 1988. pp. 13–14.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. "One Hundred Twentieth Annual Report of the Trustees for the Fiscal Year July 1, 1989, through June 30, 1990." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 120 (1990). p. 28.
Maguire, Henry P. The Icons of their Bodies: Saints and Their Images in Byzantium. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996. p. 105.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 46, pp. 37–38.
Dandridge, Pete. "A Study of the Gilding of Silver in Byzantium." In Gilded Metals: History, Technology and Conservation. London: Archetype Publications, 2000. pp. 125–139, fig. 7.1, 7.9–.12, also Table 7.2, p. 140.
Eisenberg, Jerome M. "The New Byzantine Galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Minerva 12, no. 3 (2001). pp. 26–27, fig. 13.
Evans, Helen C., Melanie Holcomb, and Robert Hallman. "The Arts of Byzantium." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 58, no. 4 (Spring 2001). pp. 38, 50, 60.
Elbern, Victor. "Zehn Kelche und eine Taube : Bemerkungen zum liturgischen Schatzfund von Attarouhti [ Attarouthi ]." Oriens Christianus 88 (2004). pp. 233–253, fig. 1.
Dandridge, Pete. "The Exhibition of Unlacquered Silver at the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Journal of the American Institute for Conservation 44 (2005). pp. 178–179.
Elbern, Victor. "Zehn Kelche und eine Taube. Bemerkungen zum liturgischen Schatzfund von Attarouhti." In Fructus operis III : ausgewählte kunsthistorische Schriften aus den Jahren 1961-2007, edited by Michael Brandt. Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner, 2008. pp. 378–98.
Barnet, Peter. "Medieval Europe." In Philippe de Montebello and The Metropolitan Museum of Art: 1977–2008, edited by James R. Houghton. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. p. 25.
Piguet-Panayotova, Dora. "The Attarouthi Chalices." Mitteilungen zur spätantiken Archäologie und byzantinischen Kunstgeschichte 6 (2009). pp. 9–76, fig. 1.
Hunter-Crawley, Heather. "The Cross of Light: Experiencing Divine Presence in Byzantine Syria." In Experiencing Byzantium: Papers from the 44th Spring Symposium of Byzantine Studies, Newcastle and Durham, April 2011, edited by Claire Nesbitt, and Mark Jackson. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2011. p. 178.
Scott, David A. Ancient Metals: Microstructure and Metallurgy. Vol. 1. Los Angeles: Conservation Science Press, 2011. p. 41.
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