If anyone can translate writing or help with information it is appreciated. Has fish and crosses etched around the middle. With a inscription at top.
Hmm,thats an interesting piece. Can we see the bottom ? Obviously religious,with the fish and crosses,so maybe some sort of mass item ? To me it looks very old and possibly silver .
I don’t think it is silver but it is non magnetic. I’m not finding any markings other than the writing at the top
I don't even recognise the character forms; it looks like something out of the Voynich Manuscript. If it's Liturgical Geʽez, this must be an Eritrean Orthodox vessel, no? @Bronwen HELP! Amphora, amphora, Wish we could see some more-a.... .
I would try @Any Jewelry for this one. I do not recognize the script. Looks like it might read right to left. S_O_S may well be on the right track of Eritrean or Ethiopian. There could be small marks hidden among the ornamentation & tarnish patches. I wouldn't want to see it all bright & shiny, but a going over with a sunshine cloth to bring high points out of the dark may be revealing.
It is beautiful and very unusual. The designs are chased or engraved, not etched. Many cultures in the Mediterranean coastal region of the Middle East were fond of fish symbols, especially the Palestinians. Their traditional jewellery included beautiful filigree fish and other fish imagery. So I would say Palestinian Christian. The script could be Kufic script, an early Arabic script form which is still used for calligraphy etc.
Maybe @santiques can read the script. He also has valuable knowledge of the styles of the region. Saleh, can you help?
Those seem definitely like Christian symbols. The fish and the cross. Have you thought of Coptic Christians or some other small group from the area?
As far as I know Coptic Christians use Coptic script, which is based on Greek script. It is very much part of their Coptic as well as their Christian identity.
@Any Jewelry - I don't think so, and I've ruled out a lot of Middle Eastern roots and variants. Based on this character: I think the root language is from Old Turkic (i.e. Orkhon or Göktürk if you prefer). Wild guess: southern Türkistan? .
Following @Bronwen's suggestion, how about Amharic - an Ethiopian language written with Ge'ez script. The letter "saday" looks like the highlighted letter, and there is a significant Christian community in Ethiopia. Amharic - thirtieth symbol Posted in September 28th, 2008 by Alicia in Amharic This post is brought to you by the letter: The thirtieth symbol of the Amharic alphabet is called S’ÄDÄY and it sounds like an S but with an explosive sound. To learn how to pronounce it, you should listen to the examples below. It has the same sound than the next symbol . The animations were made according to the instructions in the book Writing and Reading Amharic and the sounds are from the site Amharic Online. Phonetic symbols according to David Appleyard. https://ethiopia.limbo13.com/index.php/thirtieth_symbol/ The Ge'ez script for Ge'ez https://www.omniglot.com/writing/ethiopic.htm
There's an Ethiopian Christian church not far from me. Built as an 1870s high church CofE, fell into disuse. And rather than being turned into flats, our local Ethiopian community bought it and use it, which is pleasing. They wear amazing clothing.
You know, I kept confusing this: With the one on the left in this cartouche (Syrian): I have probably been standing on my head too much.
