Token with Stylite
Returned to lender
This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.Stylites were ascetics who lived on platforms atop columns. This movement had practitioners into the nineteenth century, from Mosul in today’s northern Iraq to Gaul in France. Syria was home to large numbers of stylites, including the first stylite, Symeon Stylites the Elder (ca. 389–459).
Some twenty-eight stylite complexes have been identified in Syria. The best known are Qal‘at Sem‘an, enclosing the column of Symeon Stylites the Elder (ca. 389–459), and the Wondrous Mountain, built around the column of Symeon Stylites the Younger (521–562). Each was a thriving pilgrimage complex, drawing pilgrims from Byzantium’s southern provinces and beyond.
Some twenty-eight stylite complexes have been identified in Syria. The best known are Qal‘at Sem‘an, enclosing the column of Symeon Stylites the Elder (ca. 389–459), and the Wondrous Mountain, built around the column of Symeon Stylites the Younger (521–562). Each was a thriving pilgrimage complex, drawing pilgrims from Byzantium’s southern provinces and beyond.
Artwork Details
- Title: Token with Stylite
- Date: 6th-7th century
- Geography: Made in Syria (?)
- Medium: Terracotta
- Dimensions: 1 1/16 x 15/16 in. (2.7 x 2.4 cm)
- Classification: Ceramics
- Credit Line: Tsolozidis Collection, Thessaloniki (S?169)
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters