Cast Bronze Vessels in the 6th-9th Centuries: Remarks on an Assemblage of Liturgical Implements Found at Morbello (prov. Alessandria, Piedmont / I)

Abstract

The assemblages of liturgical implements are rare in Early Medieval Europe. Only a small part of them is stratigraphically or spatially related to early churches, and the overwhelming majority lacks completely any archaeological context. Against this background, the objects discovered in 1897 at Morbello – an ewer, a lamp and a thurible in cast bronze – convey relevant data on the composition, the chronology and the function of such assemblages. The items from Morbello – studied here in comparison not only to other archaeological finds, but also to written and iconographic sources – provide new data on the circulation and use of liturgical implements in the West during the 6^th-9^th centuries. At the same time, the assemblage represents an excellent starting point for addressing other prominent issues, more generally related to cast bronze items and the so-called Coptic vessels.