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Cameo token with Saint Nicholas
Italo-Byzantine (Venice)
Italo-Byzantine
12th-13th century
Object Place: Europe, Venice, Italy
Medium/Technique
Opaque red glass paste
Dimensions
2.4 x 1.8 cm (15/16 x 11/16 in.)
Credit Line
Samuel Putnam Avery Fund
Accession Number40.728
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsGlass
DescriptionCameo of red glass paste with half length frontal figure of Saint Nicholas inscribed on either side O A[?IOC] NHKO?AOC in relief. His right arm is raised in a gesture of benediction. He has closely cropped hair, balding on top, and a short beard. Dressed as an Eastern bishop, he wears a pallium. His head is encircled by a nimbus.
This was a pilgrims token perhaps mounted as pendant or ring.
This was a pilgrims token perhaps mounted as pendant or ring.
Provenance1940, sold by Kirkor Minassin (dealer; b. 1874 - d. 1944), New York, to the MFA for $45. (Accession date: November 14, 1940)