Medicine Box with Hygieia, early Byzantine, 6th century, ivory, 7.5 cm x 6 cm x 2.5 cm, Washington D.C., Dumbarton Oaks.
Museum description: “Most ivory and bone containers are really wooden, covered with veneers of ivory. This craftsman chose the more extravagant option of carving the box with its six compartments out of a solid block of ivory, the rounded back following the contour of the outside of the tusk. The sliding lid with its figural relief is a separate piece. There are boxes of the same design and imagery in Switzerland (in the Cathedral Treasury at Chur and in the Church at Valeria) and a third on a larger scale with different imagery here at Dumbarton Oaks (accession no. BZ.1947.8). All of these have in common the distinctive scrolls at the top of the lid. They are all designed to accommodate locks (now missing), and most, like this one, have holes drilled into the top which may have been used to attach straps for carrying. The user apparently needed to ensure that the substances stored in the tiny compartments remained unmixed and safe. The imagery on the lid, as on the lids on the examples in Switzerland, indicates what these substances may have been. The seated woman feeding a large snake out of a bowl in her left hand is Hygieia “Health”. She was one of the daughters, according to ancient Greek tradition, of Asklepios, the god of healing. The boxes, therefore, probably housed pharmaceuticals. Early Byzantine pharmacology relied on an elaborate classification of natural substances as warmer, cooler, dryer, or moister that had been codified by Galen in the 2nd century. Aetius of Amida, a sixth-century medical writer, catalogued 613 substances, mostly vegetable, but also animal and mineral; and described how their judicious combination would bring about cures. The use of Hygieia as the symbol of health is a long-lived vestige of an undying ancient mythology.” -J. Hanson
Necklace with Pendant of Aphrodite Anadyomene
Necklace with Pendant of Aphrodite Anadyomene, early Byzantine, early 7th century, gold and lapis lazuli, 43.2 x 20.3 x 1.9 cm, Washington D.C., Dumbarton Oaks.
Museum Description: "Standing in a blue shell, Aphrodite Anadyomene wrings seawater from her hair. The pose was well known in antiquity, referring to the goddess’s birth from the sea, of which the deep blue color of the lapis lazuli is a visual metaphor. The harmony of references—pose, shell, deep blue color, and the sea pearls on the short chains—displays the jeweler’s ability to adapt a venerated mythological image to the luxury materials of elite taste during the early Byzantine period. The delight and fascination with exquisitely crafted jewelry were undiminished at the end of late antiquity, and the appreciation of Greco-Roman mythology, even the most lascivious of all its goddesses, continued well after the Byzantine Empire had become an officially Christian society. Aphrodite’s fame as the goddess of beauty and physical desire are expressed by her seminudity and enhanced through the precious gold, lapis lazuli, and pearls of the necklace. Yet it might have been a magical property of the image that accounted for the figure’s allure. Amulets and charms, whether costly or cheap, had been worn for centuries as effective means of personal protection or for controlling the actions or emotions of other people. This elegant necklace may have been such an amulet (apotropaion), either against pervasive malevolent spirits or as a charm to grant an erotic wish." -S. Zwirn
Floor Mosaic depicting Female Musicians and Erotes within Vegetal Border
Floor Mosaic depicting Female Musicians and Erotes within Vegetal Border, Byzantine, Maryamin, Syria, 6th century, Maryamin, Syria, Hama Museum.
Lewis W. Rubenstein, Court of Justinian at Ravenna, American, 1931-2, watercolor and graphite on cream wove paper, 33 x 41.7 cm, Cambridge, MA, Harvard Art Museums.
Pilgrim Flask with Scenes of St. Menas, Byzantine, Egypt, 4th-7th century, mold-made terracotta, 8.5 x 6.8 x 2.3 cm, Cambridge, MA, Harvard Art Museums.
Museum Commentary: “Flasks bearing images of Saint Menas are not uncommon in Egypt. Menas was a Roman soldier who was martyred; veneration of him as a saint centered on an oasis near Alexandria. On better-preserved ampullae bearing the same scene, the details of Menas' clothing (tunic, boots, and cloak, perhaps in the style of the later Roman military) are much clearer; the border type varies between the dot/stud motif and chevrons. Some examples bear inscriptions or depictions of crosses above the saint's arms.”
Solidus of Justinian I, Byzantine, Constantinople, c. 538-45, gold, 4.49 g, Cambridge, MA, Harvard Art Museums.
Obverse Inscription: DNIVSTINI ANVSPP D(ominus) N(oster) Iustinianus P(er) P(etuus) AVG(ustus) ("Our Lord Justinian, Eternal Emperor"). A frontal bust portrait of the emperor wearing a helmet, diadem, and cuirass. In his hand is a globus cruciger. Reverse Inscription: VICTORI AAVCCC, at end, theta. In ex., CONOB. Victoria Augustorum [officina] Θ (“Victory of the Augusti”) An angel holds a cross and a globus cruciger. At right, a star. CONOB is the mint mark, indicating that it was struck at Constantinople.
Madaba Map, Early Byzantine, late. 6th century, floor mosaic, Madaba, Jordan, Church of Saint George.
The Madaba Map is a floor mosaic that contains the oldest surviving cartographic depiction of the Holy Land. It dates to the 6th century and is found at the Church of Saint George in Madaba, Jordan. The presence and absence of various monuments has aided in a more precise dating of the map, which included the New Church of the Theotokos in Jerusalem, dedicated on November 20, 542, but does not have any buildings that date to after 570. The city was conquered by the Sasanian Empire in 614, and largely destroyed by an earthquake in 746. The mosaic was not rediscovered until 1884 during the construction of a new church on the site. The mosaic is located in the apse and originally measured 21 by 7 meters and contained over two million tesserae. In its modern form, it measures 16 x 5 meters.
Hanging with Hestia Polyolbus, Early Byzantine, c. 6th century, 138 x 114.5 cm, wool, Washington D.C., Dumbarton Oaks.
Museum Description: "This tapestry excited scholarly interest immediately after the Blisses acquired it in 1929. They lent it in 1931 to the first major exhibition of Byzantine art in Paris where, according to Royall Tyler, the French art historian Paul Alfassa “proclaimed that it beat all of the Gothic tapestries in the world into a cocked hat.” Within ten years it had been published as many times. Hestia Polyolbos (Hestia, full of blessing) distributes blessings from her throne, assisted by six winged genii, each carrying a disc naming a blessing; euphrosyne (“mirth”), euochia ( “good cheer”), prokope (“prosperity”), ploutos ( “wealth”), eulogia (“blessing”), and arete (“virtue”). Two other regal figures frame the group, one labeled phos (“light”). Hestia, the Greek noun for hearth, is also the name of the goddess of the household hearth. Our knowledge of her cult is vague, partly because she was venerated, not at a few localized shrines, but wherever fires were found. It may be for this reason that hymns give her a universal character as the center of the world and the house of the gods. Hestia’s removal from any narrative context, when combined with her frontal pose and the laudatory epithet Polyolbos, suggests that this image was a focus for worship, one that deviated from the Greek tradition of cult statues. A salient difference is that while worshipers can escape the gaze of a cult statue by moving, the flatness of a tapestry allows Hestia’s eyes to follow the devout anywhere they move. This potency of two-dimensional images to conjure up a commanding presence was exploited at this time, both by the last phases of traditional Olympian religion and by the contemporary early phase of Christianity." J. Hanson
Circular Pendant with Double Solidus of Constantine I
Circular Pendant with Double Solidus of Constantine I, Medallion: 324, Pendant: c. 370-90, Early Byzantine, gold, 9.6 cm x 8.5 cm, Washington D.C., Dumbarton Oaks.
Museum Description: “The consummate skill used to create this pendant places it among the most highly accomplished examples of gold jewelry from the early Byzantine period. The elaborate frame around the imperial medallion combines two techniques: chisel cutting of sheet gold masterfully worked to create lacelike tendrils, scrolls, and geometric designs; and hollow, three-dimensional heads formed by working the gold from both the interior and the exterior. The contrast of flat, silhouette patterns and heads in the round produces a dynamic counterpoint rarely seen in jewelry of this period. The medallion shows the emperor Constantine wearing a crown of rays—an attribute of Apollo—while his sons Crispus and Constantine II are in consular robes on the reverse, co-celebrating their third consulate in 324. A similarly designed, although hexagonal, pendant at Dumbarton Oaks contains a medallion celebrating the second consulate in 321 of these same imperial sons. In mint condition, these medallions were never put into circulation; they were framed so that both sides are visible, allowing all the imperial portraits to be seen. Despite their different shapes, the shared techniques, style, and decorative schemes confirm that these pendants were made as part of a set. Three additional pendants belong to this set judged by medallion type, techniques, designs, and superb execution: a circular pendant (Musée du Louvre, Paris); a hexagonal pendant (British Museum, London); and a slightly larger octagonal pendant (Cleveland Museum of Art). This latter pendant must have been the center piece of the most resplendent suite of gold jewelry to survive from early Byzantium. The pendant and its companion pieces may have been an award from an emperor to an outstanding general or high ranking official, although their exact function is not certain. The key to interpreting their historical and political significance, including the identification and meaning of the busts, has yet to be discovered.” -S. Zwirn
Four Panels from a Casket, c. 420-30, Roman, Rome, ivory, 75 mm x 98 mm (single panel), London, The British Museum.
The four panels depict episodes from Passion and Resurrection of Christ. Top left: (these vignettes are meant to be read separately) the Judgement and Denial of St. Peter, at left, Pontius Pilate is shown seated, washing his hands in a basin with an attendant pouring water. At middle, Christ carries his cross, compelled by a soldier. At right, St. Peter is seated, behind him, a rooster crows (for the Denial of Peter: the Gospel of Matthew 26:33-35, the Gospel of Mark 14:29-31, the Gospel of Luke 22:33-34 and the Gospel of John 18:15-27), and a female figure points in accusation. Top right: the Crucifixion with the death of Judas at left, below his feet is the purse of silver, which he received as payment for his betrayal. Christ is surrounded by his mother Mary and St. John to the left, and the solider Longinus to the right, who is piercing Christ’s side with a spear. Bottom left: the Maries at the tomb. Christ’s Sepulchre is shown centrally with open doors, through which part of a carved sarcophagus can be seen. One door is decorated with the scene of the Raising of Lazarus and a seated depiction of the Virgin Mary. At left and right of the tomb are sleeping soldiers. Bottom right: The Incredulity of Thomas (see: John 20:24–29). Christ, at center, is shown young and beardless, with a nimbus. At the right Thomas reaches his right index finger towards Christ’s wound.