Eucharistic bread stamps, 17th-18th century
The bread stamps in this group come from Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, Attica, the Peloponnese, Thasos, Corfu and Crete. In 1669, the fall of Candia (modern-day Herakleion on Crete) was followed by a significant reduction in the Greek territory under Venetian rule, with the Greek world coming under Ottoman rule virtually in its entirety. Still, religion continued to play a key role in the social organization of the enslaved Greeks. The bread stamps of this era display stability and a commitment to the tradition of previous centuries, without changes in their design.
