obverse Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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obverse Photo © President and Fellows of Harvard College
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Identification and Creation

Object Number
2012.1.121
Title
Silver Phylactery with Greek Magical Inscription
Classification
Amulets
Work Type
amulet
Date
300-499 CE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Asia, Syria
Period
Byzantine period, Early
Culture
Byzantine
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/287323

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Silver
Technique
Engraved
Dimensions
25.3 x 2.8 cm, 0.02 cm (9 15/16 x 1 1/8 in.)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
[Frank L Kovacs, Ancient Coins and Antiquities, San Mateo, CA, by 1992], sold; to The Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University (1992-2012), transfer; to the Harvard Art Museums, 2012.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Alice Corinne McDaniel Collection, Department of the Classics, Harvard University
Accession Year
2012
Object Number
2012.1.121
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

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Descriptions

Description
A long, thin silver tablet with a lengthy inscription containing divine names and a prayer for the protection of Thomas, son of Maxima, from curses, ghosts and witchcraft.

Publication History

  • Florent Heintz, "A Greek Silver Phylactery in the MacDaniel Collection", Zeitschrift für Papyrologie und Epigraphik (1996), Vol. 112, pp. 295-300, pl.
  • Christine Kondoleon, ed., Antioch: The Lost Ancient City, exh. cat., Princeton University Press (Princeton, NJ, 2000), p. 164-66, no. 52.

Exhibition History

  • Antioch: The Lost Ancient City, Worcester Art Museum, 10/07/2000 - 02/04/2001; Cleveland Museum of Art, 03/18/2001 - 06/03/2001; Baltimore Museum of Art, 09/16/2001 - 12/30/2001
  • 32Q: 3620 University Study Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 08/25/2015 - 01/03/2016

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu