Peacocks Flanking a Kantharos

Circa 1030
Detail of the Ciborium of Proconsul Grgur
Archeological Museum of Zadar, Croatia

This motif goes back to at least the 4th century in Christian art and is based on earlier pagan iconographic traditions. The peacocks symbolize immortality; the kantharos can have that value and/or symbolize the sacraments of Baptism and Eucharist.

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Photographed at the museum by Richard Stracke, shared under Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.