Browse Items (32 total)

Psalters are an important part of Christian liturgical services and are some of the most popular texts of the Middle ages. Psalters contain the Psalms that would have been used in church services, but also within Orthodox communities contained the…

A collection of six silver plates depicting the story of David and Goliath, utilizing scenes from the Old testament of the Bible. The plates were used for display in a noble person's house. Byzantine work, made in Constantinople, and found in Cyprus.…

This ring, made of gold, is from the early Byzantine period and is believed to have been used to signify and protect a marriage. It shows Christ, centered, joining the hands of the two parties flanking him in an engraving of niello, which is a black…

This figure, excavated from a mass grave at Beth Shean in the 1920s, is fashioned from terracotta, adorned with a red wash, and depicts a woman carrying, presumably, her own child upon her left shoulder. The figurine appears to have been created from…

The Fieschi Morgan Staurotheke is a Byzantine reliquary which most likely would have been used to carry fragments of the True Cross as well as other Christian relics. Its name is derived from its past owner, Pope Innocent IV (Sinibaldo Fieschi) as…

This glass bowl base is made with gold foil sandwiched between two fused layers of glass to create what is commonly known as a gold-glass medallion. This medallion illustrates saints Peter and Paul, notably beardless, sitting in the foreground, while…

This 15th-century illuminated manuscript is very similar to Dioscorides of Anazarbus’ Late Antique pharmacology manuscript De Materia Medica, which became the standard manual on plants and their medicinal properties. The Herbal in the Tradition of…

This hanging oil lamp chandelier was meant as an offering for a cure or remedy, possibly taken out only when a halt to sickness was needed. Originally it was not meant to be hung and was probably mounted on a stake or rod of some kind instead. When…

A personification, Roma or possibly Athena, is depicted on this bracelet made of gold. No matter her identity, the presence of a goddess on jewelry in the fifth century shows the continuing impact of pagan culture on the Byzantine world of late…

This ivory fragment is thick and conical, due to the natural curve of the elephant tusk from which it is carved. The high relief creates extreme shadows and contrast between the warrior and the background. Although the ivory is worn, the warrior’s…