ASIA MINOR AMPULLAE: A CLASS OF THEIR OWN?

Abstract

Two practices of art historical research currently distort the study of Asia Minor ampullae: conflating the Asia Minor ampullae with St. Menas flasks and applying sweeping models of “pilgrimage art” to ampullae. This study examines and overturns both interpretive issues. I deconstruct the predominant interpretative model (the locus sanctus model), which relies on iconographic and localized notions of “sacred mimesis” and “contagion” to determine the circumstances of production, distribution, and social meaning of Asia Minor ampullae. Formal, visual, and contextual analysis of published objects and catalogued ampullae from Sardis, which focuses on materiality and reception, disassociate the Asia Minor corpus from that of Menas. By introducing the concept of “infinite divinity,” I free the Asia Minor ampullae from the absolute locative conditions of the locus sanctus model and provide an alternate understanding of their connection to sacred travel and devotion in late antiquity