Object Description
A fine and exceptionally clear, Byzantine, terracotta pilgrim token featuring a circular body with a domed back. The flat obverse is impressed with an image of an angel sitting in front of a polygonal building surmounted by a cross. A crescent moon and a star are depicted above the scene. The building is likely a representation of the Holy Sepulchre, the fourth-century church built on the site where Jesus was crucified at Golgotha, and on the site of Jesus’s empty tomb, where he was buried and later resurrected. A granulated frame surrounds the image. The obverse is undecorated but features fingerprint impressions, reflecting the handcrafted nature of the token.
Date: Circa 6th-7th century AD