**Originally Listed At $200**

Near East, Holy Land, Byzantine period, ca. 10th to 14th century CE. A hand-carved stone mold with a heraldic eagle at the center within a circular border. The eagle is etched with individual strokes creating the wings and crest on the head. The stone has three drilled cavities around the outer edge of the carved areas. This mold, when completed could have been used for making impressions on pottery vessels such as Pilgrim flasks, known as ampullae. Ampullae were often brought back from a visiting holy sites and were stamped with symbols to indicaate where they were from, similar to a souvenir, and would have held holy water from a shrine. On the verso of the mold is a partial dotted motif and drilled cavities. Size: 1.375" L x 0.675" W x 1.875" H (3.5 cm x 1.7 cm x 4.8 cm)

Provenance: ex-estate of Eldert Bontekoe, Pegasi Numismatics, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA acquired before 2000

All items legal to buy/sell under U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and are guaranteed to be as described or your money back.

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#159078

Chips and nicks to peripheries of stone and bird carving. Some softening of details. Light mineral deposits in recessed areas.