Византия
Necklace with Pendant Cross. Byzantine, 6th century
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“Crosses similar to this one are found in all media throughout the Byzantine world.
As Christianity became the dominant religion in Byzantine society, Christian imagery was increasingly found on jewelry. Crosses appear by the fifth century; the Virgin Mary, saints, angels, and other holy figures became popular in the sixth century. The images were thought to protect the wearer, aid in prayers, and even perform miracles.”
The Rubens Vase. Byzantine, 400 AD
The Walters Art Museum
“Carved in high relief from a single piece of agate, this extraordinary vase was most likely created in an imperial workshop for a Byzantine emperor. It made its way to France, probably carried off as treasure after the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade, where it passed through the hands of some of the most renowned collectors of western Europe, including the Dukes of Anjou and King Charles V of France. In 1619, the vase was purchased by the great Flemish painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640). A drawing that he made of it is now in Saint Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum, inv. 5430. The subsequent fate of the vase before the 19th century is obscure. The gold mount around its rim is struck with a French gold-standard mark used in 1809-1819 and with the guarantee stamp of the French departement of Ain. A similar late Roman agate vessel, the “Waddesdon Vase” or “Cellini Vase,” in now in the British Museum, London.”
Chalice. Byzantine, 6th-7th century AD
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Shoes. Byzantine, 6th-9th century AD
The Walters Art Museum
Pendant. Byzantine, 1100
The Victoria & Albert Museum
“Byzantine cameos were made in good numbers between the 10th and 12th centuries in a variety of semi-precious stones. Many showed standard images of Christ or the Virgin, familiar from coins and other media, or depicted particularly popular saints. They were often set into pendants or other items of jewellery, and being easily portable several came to be inserted into western book covers and reliquaries.”
Dress Ornament. Byzantine, 6th-7th century AD
The Walters Art Museum
Lamp with Griffin-Head Handle. Byzantine, 300-400 AD
The Cleveland Museum of Art
“Bronze oil lamps with griffin-head handles and Christian symbolic decoration were common from the 4th through the 6th centuries and have survived in considerable numbers all over the Mediterranean world. The popularity of griffins, ancient mythological creatures with the body of a lion and head and wings of an eagle, is probably rooted in their traditional role as powerful guardian figures and protectors. On this Early Byzantine bronze lamp, the griffin seems to have functioned similarly as a guardian of the flame and a keeper of the light. The decoration of an everyday utilitarian object with both pagan and Christian symbols of protection may mark an effort to enhance its power.”
Bracelet. Byzantine, 6th-7th century AD
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“These elaborately decorated bracelets have richly jeweled exteriors and finely detailed opus interrasile (openwork) patterns on their interiors. The luminous beauty of pearls was highly prized in the Byzantine world. These bracelets are only two of thirty-four pieces of gold jewelry from Egypt said to have been found near Lycopolis (now Assiut) or Antinoopolis (Antinoe, now Sheik Ibada) in Egypt at the turn of the century. Whether discovered together, or later assembled, they represent the standard of luxury common among the elite in Egypt during the period of Byzantine rule and the close connections between the wealthy province and the capital in Constantinople. Multicolored, or polychrome, jewelry was very popular in the Early Byzantine world.”
Amuletic Armband with Holy Rider, Saints, and Magical Symbols. Byzantine, 6th-7th Century AD
The Walters Art Museum
“Originally made up of seven inscribed medallions, this armband demonstrates the intermixing of Christian, Jewish, and pagan imagery on an object of magical, medicinal purpose. Judging by the inscriptions, most armbands (made in Byzantine Syria and Egypt) were used to treat abdominal disorders.”
The Lampascus Spoons. Byzantine, 6th century AD
The British Museum
“‘O handsome youth, do not believe too much in beauty’, reads the Latin inscription on the front side of the bowl and handle of one of these spoons. A further inscription, on the back of the handle, this time in Greek, boldly adds ‘You cannot be beautiful without money!’
These six spoons were part of a large silver treasure discovered in Turkey. They were part of an original set of tableware consisting of a place setting of twelve. Six spoons are now in The British Museum as a result of gifts and purchases in the nineteenth century.
Each spoon bears a verse and comment in Greek and/or Latin. The Greek texts were drawn from an anthology of epigrams known as the ‘Sayings of the Seven Sages’; these were complimented with Latin texts from Virgil. As on this spoon, the serious verses were often matched by a witty rejoinder. Other pairs of inscriptions include: ‘Love conquers all, and we yield to love’ and ‘Eat, you who are lovesick!’; “Imagine the end of life”, said Solon in sacred Athens’ and ‘How one should live life!’
The spoons are a characteristic type of spoon from Late Antiquity, with pear-shaped bowls attached by means of a disc to a tapering handle. The rims of the bowls are beautifully engraved with a wave pattern, inlaid inniello. Foliate patterns on the discs and backs of the bowls, together with the inscriptions, were also emphasized with niello. Both the superb craftsmanship and the clever inscriptions of these spoons typify the cultural sophistication of the Eastern Mediterranean in this period.”
Cosmetics Jar. Byzantine, 6th century AD
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Glass Jug with Jewish Symbols. Byzantine, 6th-7th century AD
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“Translucent light green; handle in same color. Mouth and neck free blown. Rounded, partially tubular rim, folded out and down; broad trefoil mouth with narrowed spout; cylindrical neck with bulge at top, then expanding downwards; concave shoulder with rounded outer edge; hexagonal body with concave sides; pushed-in bottom with small central kick and circular pontil scar; broad strap handle applied in uneven pad to top of body and edge of shoulder, drawn up and outwards in a straight line, then curved in and trailed off on rim opposite spout with slight upward trail folded back on top of handle.
On the body, six rectangular panels with impressed decoration, each of a different design bordered by lines of recessed dots. They comprise a five-branched menorah on a tripod base, a double lozenge with diamond-shaped central boss, and various vegetal motifs, including a stylized palm tree.
Complete, but crack across middle of handle; pinprick and elongated bubbles, with some black impurities in handle and rim; dulling, slight pitting, and faint whitish iridescent weathering, with patches of thicker creamy brown weathering on interior of neck and handle.
Such hexagonal and octagonal jars or jugs were mass-produced in molds for the pilgrim trade in the Holy Land. This example, found in Cyprus, bears witness to the important place the island had on the sea route that brought pilgrims to Jerusalem.”
Earrings. Byzantine, 600 AD
The Walters Museum
“These dramatic, colorful earrings were most likely made in Constantinople, perhaps as an imperial gift to a Visigothic ruler of medieval Spain, where the earrings were found. The Visigoths, a migratory group that ultimately settled in Spain, had by the 6th century established trade and diplomatic contacts with the Byzantine court, whose jewelry they much admired.”
Breast Chains. Byzantine, 600 AD
The British Museum
“The tradition of wearing body chains goes back to the Hellenistic period. Contemporary terracotta figurines show the large medallions centred on the breast and middle of the back. The longer of the two chains fit over the shoulders and the two shorter ran beneath the arms.
The large medallions are composed of seven smaller openwork discs. The pierced designs in the form of quatrefoils and octofoils are repeated on the chain of ninety-two small discs. The style of openwork on the body chain discs can be compared to other objects made in the early seventh century AD. This dating is supported by gold coins of the emperor Maurice Tiberius (AD 582-602) that were mounted on a gold pectoral (ornament worn on the chest) from the treasure.”
Diptych with Circus Scenes. Byzantine, 5th century AD
The Hermitage Museum
Plaque- Virgin Hodegetria. Byzantine, 1050-1100
The Victoria & Albert Museum
“This Byzantine plaque is a type of image known as the ‘Mother of God showing the Way’. It was found on the Venetian island of Torcello, and the inscription, commemorating a ‘bishop Philip’ is probably a later, Italian addition. This is a good example of the sort of Byzantine object that made its way into Europe between the twelfth and fourteenth centuries. The plaque may even have been part of the plunder from the Fourth Crusade, which sacked Constantinople in 1204. Images of this sort were an inspiration to Venetian artists who created similar reliefs as altar furnishings. Byzantine images and object types were an important inspiration for Western European artists and patrons at various times throughout the middle ages.”
Wooden Box with Bronze Balance Scale
Byzantine, 500-600 AD
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“Scales such as these were used throughout the Byzantine world to measure money and other lightweight objects. According to Byzantine law, the suspension cord of the scales was to be held by two fingers of one hand, with the other fingers straight to ensure that no undue pressure was placed on the scales. The wooden storage container protected the delicate balance of the mechanism.”
The Borradaile Oliphant. Byzantine, 11th century AD
The British Museum
“The use of the term oliphant derives from the medieval epic, The Song of Roland, in which the hero had a sounding horn called ‘Olifant’ (the Old French word for elephant). Elephants tusks carved for this purpose were made in both Arabic and Byzantine workshops.
This example is carved with rows of interlocking medallions whose pattern resembles a richly-woven textile. An animal is displayed in each circle (winged griffins, heraldic eagles, lions, peacocks and snakes can all be seen). The medallions around the rim are closely spaced with leafy fronds between the circles, while those on the main body of the horn are arranged more loosely with bosses representing grapes in the diamond-shaped interstices.
The overall design of this horn has close parallels in Arabic horns, but the plastic treatment of the animals is quite different from Islamic carving traditions. Motifs such as peacocks drinking from chalices, the dragon-headed snakes and the bands ofguilloche are also of western inspiration. A carver familiar with both Byzantine and Arabic traditions may well have been working somewhere in southern Italy in the late eleventh century when Sicily was under the control of the Fatimid dynasty.”
Processional Cross
Byzantine, 1000-1050
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
“The silver-gilt medallions on both sides of this exceptionally handsome processional cross, which is finely wrought in silver and silver gilt, make it unique among surviving Byzantine examples. On the face of the cross, at the center, is a medallion with a bust of the blessing of Christ, surrounded by an incised pattern of freely worked repoussé rinceau vine scrolls on each of the four arms, which together form a smaller cross. At the ends of the crossbar are medallions with images of the Virgin and of John the Precursor (the Baptist) raising their hands in prayer toward the image of Christ-the standard Deesis composition in the Byzantine world. At the terminals of the vertical arm of the cross are the archangels Michael and Gabriel, respectively, each dressed in a different Byzantine court costume. An elegant acanthus leaf decorates the gilded foot of the cross, at the point where the staff by which the cross was carried was inserted. A ruched, ribbonlike band outlines the cross.
The reverse is severely plain except for the five silver-gilt medallions: at the center is Saint Thalelaios, a medical saint martyred in the late third century, who carries the medical case and lancet of his profession; he is flanked by the popular Byzantine saints Nicholas and John Chrysostom. At the ends of the vertical arm of the cross are the archangels Uriel (above) and Raphael (below), again in Byzantine court dress. The silver-gilt base is inscribed in Greek, “Supplication [gift] of Leo, Bishop,” and an inscription identifies each of the figures on the cross, as well.
The donor of the cross cannot yet be connected with a historical figure. In style, however, the work is similar to a group of processional crosses made between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries, which have medallions on the front and niello decoration on their reverse sides. The freely wrought rinceau pattern and the elegant articulation of the figures on this example identify it as among the earliest in the series; it probably dates from sometime between the early and mid-eleventh century. It is argued that these crosses were meant as votive offerings to the central image on the reverse side. Since Saint Thalelaios, though now little known, was widely popular in the Byzantine world, the site of the consecration of this cross and even that of its manufacture remain uncertain. It may have been dedicated to a site named for the saint, or it may have been meant as a general gift of thanksgiving for a cure and not associated with a place that bore a specific connection to him. It has been suggested that as the saint is named in the liturgy for the blessing of the waters at Epiphany (January 6), the cross may have been meant for use in that rite.
The Museum’s cross was constructed of eight hammered silver sheaths, which were held together at the ends of the crossarm by eight ball-shaped finials. The medallions decorating the cross were first filled with gypsum and backed with iron disks, which were soldered on for additional support before the sheaths were attached to the core with the same solder. The separately modeled central medallions covered the ends of the sheaths. The burnished silver and partially gilded surfaces of the cross are well preserved, and portions of the iron core survive, but only two of the finials are complete.”
Lamp. Byzantine, 400 AD
The Cleveland Art Museum
Wine Strainer. Byzantine, 6th-7th century
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Bowl with Fish. Byzantine, 11th-13th century.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art