An Exceptional Early Byzantine Censer in Antalya
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21322295 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Linda Safran, John Osborne (0000-0002-6602-0894) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 64 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 1-20 |
| Publication date | 2025-03-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Gesta (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0016-920X • E-ISSN: 2169-3099 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/733785 |
| OpenAlex | W4409418518 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 17 |
This study explores the imagery and meanings of an exceptional gilt-silver censer from the Sion Treasure, housed today in Antalya (Türkiye). The censer bears silver stamps that help date it late in the reign of Emperor Justinian I (ca. 550–65), as well as a dedicatory inscription that names the bishop who donated many other objects in that treasure. The Antalya censer stands out for its cylindrical form and for its figural frieze, which depicts episodes from the life of Mary drawn from biblical and apocryphal sources. The unique iconography elevates Mary as the vessel of salvation and resonates with the increasing devotion to the Theotokos in mid-sixth-century Byzantium
Art · Byzantine architecture · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Byzantine Studies and History · Classics
| Highly cited | No |
|---|