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Cesnola Phoenician inscriptions

Inscriptions of ancient Semitic civilization From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cesnola Phoenician inscriptions are 28 Phoenician inscriptions from Cyprus (primarily Kition) in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Cesnola Collection. They were discovered by Luigi Palma di Cesnola during his tenure as the United States Consul to Cyprus from 1865 to 1871.[1] They were inscribed on votive bowls, two stelae, and on 18 different vases.[2]

The Cesnola Collection was brought to public attention for the first time in 1870 when Emil Rödiger presented a report to the Prussian Academy of Sciences,[3] and in 1872 Paul Schröder published facsimiles of the texts.[4] The collection was acquired by New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1872. Many were then published in the 1880s in the Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum, although CIS inscriptions 24, 26 and 28 and RES 389, 1518 and 1519 are now missing - i.e. they are not in the museum and some were not in the collection when it was studied in 1885. One is in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (72.129).[5]

They were first systematically classified by John Myres in 1914, and then again by Javier Teixidor in 1976.[2]

Inscriptions

Details of the inscriptions are below, using Teixidor's numbering.[5]

Krater fragments

More information No., Image ...
No. Image Object Accession number Date Inscription Summary CIS / RÉS Myres Other ref
1 Rim fragments74.51.2275-77392-362 BCEMentions Milkyaton, king of Citium and Idalium, and a religious dedication. I 21, 17 ab, 20; RES 1531, 1528 1806-8Cyprus pls. 9:3, 10:13; Atlas III, pl. 122:5 abc
2 Rim fragment74.51.2281392-362 BCEMentions Milkyaton, king of Citium and Idalium. I 18 1812Cyprus pl. 10:12; Atlas III, pl. 122:9; Hall 2, IX
3 Rim fragment74.51.2274392-362 BCEPartial inscription mentioning "king of Citium and Idalium." I 19 1805Cyprus pl. 10:11; Atlas III, pl. 122:4; Hall 2, IV
4 Handle fragment74.51.22895th-4th century BCEPartial inscription, possibly "cup." I 30 1820Atlas III, pl. 123:16; Hall 2, XVI
5 Rim fragment74.51.22865th-4th century BCEPossible dedication mentioning "statue." I 29 1817Cyprus pl. 11:20; Atlas III, pl. 123:14; Hall 2, XIV
6 Rim fragment74.51.22845th-4th century BCEPossible votive gift dedication. I 34, RES 1533 1815Cyprus pl. 11:16; Atlas III, pl. 123:12; Hall 2, XII
7 Rim fragments74.51.2287-885th-4th century BCEVotive text with regnal year of the monarch. I 31, 35 1818-19Cyprus pl. 11:18, 19; Atlas III, pl. 123:15 ab; Hall 2, XV ab
8 Fragment74.51.22935th-4th century BCEPartial text, possibly a name, "son of ..." I 36 1824Cyprus pl. 11:22; Atlas III, pl. 123:20; Hall 2, XX
9 Rim fragment74.51.22785th-4th century BCETitle of the dedicator, possibly "interpreter of the thrones." I 22ab 1809Atlas III, pl. 122:6; Hall 2, VI
10 Bowl fragment74.51.22855th-4th century BCEDedication to "his Lord Esmun Melqart." I 37 1816Cyprus pl. 11:23; Atlas III, pl. 123:13; Hall 2, XIII
11 Rim fragment74.51.22805th-4th century BCEDedication to Esmun and Melqart. I 23 1811Cyprus pl. 10:10; Atlas III, pl. 122:8; Hall 2, VIII
12 Rim fragment74.51.22925th-4th century BCEDedication to Esmun Melqart. I 28 1823Cyprus pl. 11:17; Atlas III, pl. 123:19; Hall 2, XIX
13 Rim and handle fragment74.51.22795th-4th century BCEDedication from the son of Abdmelqart to Esmun Melqart. I 39, RES 1534 1810Atlas II, pl. 141, 1051; Hall 2, VII
14 Rim fragments74.51.2272-735th-4th century BCEDedication to Esmun Melqart. I 16ab, RES 1530 1803-04Cyprus pls. 10:14, 9:1; Atlas III, pl. 122:3 ab; Hall 2, III ab
15 Rim and handle fragment74.51.22825th-4th century BCEDedication to Esmun Melqart. I 25ab 1813abCyprus pls. 10:15, 12:30; Atlas III, pl. 122:10; Hall 2, X
16 Rim fragment74.51.22835th-4th century BCEDedication to Esmun Melqart. I 27 1814Cyprus pl. 11:21; Atlas III, pl. 123:11; Hall 2, XI
17 Rim fragment74.51.22915th-4th century BCEPossible end of a votive formula. I 33 1822Cyprus pl. 9:5; Atlas III, pl. 123:18; Hall 2, XVIII
18 Rim fragment74.51.22905th-4th century BCEPartial inscription, possibly "q' h t" (aleph and het uncertain). I 32 1821Cyprus pl. 9:6; Atlas III, pl. 123:17; Hall 2, XVII
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Marble blocks

More information No., Image ...
No. Image Object Accession number Date Inscription Summary CIS / RÉS Myres Other ref
19 Block of white marble74.51.22715th-4th century BCETraditional reading with the name Hannibal and a dedication formula. I 15 1802Cyprus pl. 9:4; Atlas III, pl. 122:2; Hall 2, II
20 Block of white marble74.51.22944th century BCEInscription mentions Pumiyaton, king of Citium and Idalium, and two offerings. I 14, RES 1529 1801Cyprus pl. 9:2; Atlas III, pl. 122:1; Hall 1, 25–26; Hall 2, 7
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Vases

More information No., Image ...
No. Image Object Accession number Date Inscription Summary CIS / RÉS Myres Other ref
21 Amphora of coarse white ware74.51.2298a, bLate 7th century BCEThe name "Baalay," indicating ownership or dedication. RES 1521 1826Cyprus pl. 9:7; Atlas III, pl. 123:26; Hall 2, XXVI; Peckham, 16–17
22 Amphora of coarse ware74.51.22994th century BCEThe name "Baalazor," a well-known theophorous name, likely the owner's name. RES 1526 1828Hall 2, XXVII; Peckham, 17
23 Amphora of red earthenware74.51.2300Early 7th century BCEName "Baalpilles," "Yaton," and possibly title "inspector" or "inspected." RES 1520 1827Cyprus pl. 10:8; Atlas II, 1049; Hall 2, XXV; Peckham, 16–17
24 Alabastron74.51.2295a4th century BCEInscription reads "kly" with an unknown symbol, possibly indicating ownership or contents. RES 1523 1825Cyprus pl. 12:25; Atlas II, 1048; Hall 2, XXII; Peckham, 17
25 Jug of red-slip ware74.51.14018th century BCEThe name "'nts," unknown in both Phoenician and Greek. RES 1524 479Cyprus pl. 12:26; Atlas II, pl. 141:1052; Hall 2, XXIII; Peckham, 105, 115
26 Steatite vase74.51.5057a9th-10th century BCEThree undeciphered signs, possibly "hhh," considered archaic. RES 1525 1540Cyprus pl. 12:27; Atlas II, pl. 141:1050; Hall 2, XXIV; Peckham, 17
27 Painted white ware vase74.51.10017th century BCEInscription with four letters, "d/r g m n," unknown in Phoenician. RES 1522 775Cyprus p. 68, pl. 10:9; Atlas II, pl. 141:1047; Hall 2, XXI; Peckham, 17
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Other

More information No., Image ...
No. Image Object Accession number Date Inscription Summary Bibliography
28 Sarcophagus from Amathus74.51.2452450-400 BCESingle letter "shin" on the foot end of the lid.Myres, 233–234
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Bibliography

  • Cannavò, Anna; Schmid, Stephan G. (2020-12-01). "From Paul Schröder's archives on Cyprus, IV. The inscriptions from the Lang and Cesnola collections". Cahiers du Centre d'Études Chypriotes (50): 175–193. doi:10.4000/cchyp.504. ISSN 0761-8271.
  • Teixidor, Javier (1976). "The Phoenician Inscriptions of the Cesnola Collection". Metropolitan Museum Journal. 11: 55–70. doi:10.2307/1512684. ISSN 0077-8958. JSTOR 1512684.
  • Myres, John L. 1914. Handbook of the Cesnola Collection of Antiquities from Cyprus. no. 1801, New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
  • Corpus Inscriptionum Semiticarum: and
  • Cesnola, Palma di (1878). Cyprus: Its Ancient Cities, Tombs, and Temples: A Narrative of Researches and Excavations During Ten Years' Residence in that Island : With Maps and Illustrations. Harper & Brothers. Retrieved 2025-05-24.

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