English: Paten with biblical scenes. 9th–10th c., Semirech'e (modern-day Eastern Kazakhstan), probably from Nestorian milieu. Silver, gilding. Diameter 23 cm. Found 1897 village Grigorovskoe, Solikamskii, Perm province; acquired 1899. In the medallions, counterclockwise from bottom left: women at the empty tomb, the crucifixion, and the Ascension (Virgin Mary is not depicted in the Ascension). In the triangular spaces, clockwise from upper left: Roman soldiers sleeping at the sepulchre, St. Peter denying Jesus with the rooster, and the prophet Daniel in the lions' den. All the scenes are labelled in Syriac inscriptions. In 2013, Vera Zalesskaia has suggested that this paten is inspired by the apocryphal Gospel of St. Peter (K interpretatsii siuzheta na nestorianskom diskose iz sela Grigorovskoe, in Sogdiitsy doma i na chuzhbine / Sogdians, Their Precursors, Contemporaries and Heirs. Sankt-Peterburg: Izd-vo. Gos. Ermitazha, 2013, pp. 331–338). "The examples above all revolve around the crucifixion, reflecting the importance of the resurrection of Jesus to Nestorian Christians. [...] We have good reason to believe that Nestorian believers are familiar with this doctrine and have an attitude of acceptance. However, it must be highlighted here that Nestorian Christians are more willing to emphasize the concept of resurrection than the Passion. Michele Bacci states: 'The friar could verify this assumption personally when Guillaume Boucher made a cross for him in the French Gothic style: dismayed by the presence of the dead body of Christ, realized in relief, the priests of Karakorum hastened to conceal it. But this unusual reaction was due to the fact that in the tradition of Central Asian Christianity it was not the torture instrument of the Savior that was represented, but rather the cross of the Parousia, triumphal symbol of victory and Resurrection from the dead. This is why it may be seen in one of the medallions of the paten of Semirechye, inside the empty sepulcher.'" – Yixing Zhou. "Studies on Nestorian Iconology in China and part of Central Asia during the 13th and 14th Centuries" (pp. 69–70)

Color photograph