Object Image

Spoon with Christian Inscription

The inscription was engraved horizontally to be read by a devout Christian when eating. The spoon is similar to liturgical spoons on which inscriptions were usually arranged vertically to be read by the faithful as the clergy administered wine-soaked bread or the wine at the Eucharist in the Orthodox church.

Credit: Fletcher Fund, 1947

4th-5th century
Silver
19.4 x 3.0cm
47.100.39
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019

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The Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection