Monza ampullae

The Monza ampullae form the largest collection of a specific type of Early Medieval pilgrimage ampullae or small flasks designed to hold holy oil from pilgrimage sites in the Holy Land related to the life of Jesus. They were made in Palestine, probably in the fifth to early seventh centuries, and have been in the Treasury of Monza Cathedral north of Milan in Italy since they were donated by Theodelinda, queen of the Lombards (c. 570–628). Since the great majority of surviving examples of such flasks are those in the Monza group, the term may be used to cover this type of object in general.

The second largest group was discovered in a burial at Bobbio Abbey, not far from Monza, and names such as Monza/Bobbio flasks ampullae or flagons are among the many terms by which these objects are described. The few other examples are now scattered across the world; this article deals with the whole group of over fifty known ampullae, wherever located. Examples of comparable ampullae from pilgrimage sites outside the Holy Land have also survived, for example a very similar one from a Syrian site related to Saint Sergius, now in the Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

The ampullae are cast in various metals, including silver (perhaps "silvered" would be more accurate), tin and lead, and are mainly of interest because of the images they carry, which come from a period which has left very few traces in art, and was of crucial importance in establishing the iconography of many Christian subjects. They are also believed to represent buildings and shrines found in Jerusalem in the sixth and early seventh centuries, giving important evidence as to the early appearance of these. They were brought back from the Holy Land filled with oil which had been used in lamps burning before important pilgrimage shrines.