Icon of Depicting Virgin Mary Thornousa, which was probably part of a wider composition depicting Extreme Humiliation or Crucifixion. Period: Late Byzantine; circa: The fourth quarter of the 14th century. The shape of the Virgin Mary, with the scattered hair and the deformed by pain characteristics, refers to the expressive, anti-classical flow of Byzantine painting.
Benediction Cross, Period: Late Byzantine, circa: 1200s-1400s. Materials: black schist, gold, silver. The Cleveland Art Museum Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Closed Mondays.
Copper alloy counterpoise coin balance; in the form of a rectangular beam with transverse bar, Late Byzantine (13-14 thc.)
Relief plaque icon, depicting the Crucifixion with full-length figures of the Virgin on the left and St John on the right, Late Byzantine (13 thc). Materials: Steatite – Gold.
Relief icon; Period: Late Byzantine, circa: 14-15th c. carved white steatite in the shape of half an oval; St George and the dragon with name inscribed. Length: 2 centimetres Width: 1.6 centimetres. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Gold Signet Ring, Period: Late Byzantine circa: 14thc. Made in: Constantinople. Diameter: 28 millimetres Weight: 375 grains. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Veil Embroidered with Gold Thread. Period: Late Byzantine; circa: end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th c. A liturgical article used for covering sacred vessels on an altar. It depicts Jesus in a portrayal of the Communion of the Apostles, symbolic of the sacrament of Holy Communion. One of the rare extant Byzantine embroideries. Made in: Constantinople. Dimensions: 0.52×0.65 m.
Glass Cameo, Period: Late Byzantine; circa: 13th century A.D. Brick-red, opaque; on the front, the Crucifixion with, the Virgin at left, St John at right. Set in a metal frame. Diameter: 51 millimetres. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Gospels of Luke and John, Period:Middle Byzantine, circa: Late 12th-early 13th century A.D. The museum is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m., except for federal holidays.
Octagonal intaglio, Period: Late Byzantine; circa: 14thc. Made in: Constantinople. Dimensions: Height: 1.7 centimetre. Material: sard. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Cameo; opaque red; Period: Late Byzantine circa: 13 thc. Materials: glass. Made in: Venice. The Crucifixion with St John and St Mary and inscription, in relief. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year. Fast facts about the British Museum: Founded: 1753, Collection size: 8 million objects, Oldest object in the collection: Stone chopping tool (nearly 2 million years old).
Christ Pantocrator with Donators, Period: Late Byzantine, circa: Circa 1363. Technique: tempera on panel. Dimensions: 106 x 79 x 2,8 cm. The collection of the State Hermitage includes over 3 million works of art and world culture artefacts. It contains paintings, graphic works, sculptures, works of applied art, archaeological artefacts and numismatic objects. The Hermitage is considered to have been founded in 1764, when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of works from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. The museum celebrates the anniversary of its founding each year on 7 December, St. Catherine’s Day. Opening Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 10.30-18.00 Wednesday, Friday: 10.30-21.00 Closed: Monday.
Small icon of St Nicholas. Period: Late Byzantine; circa: First half of 13th century. Materials: bronze. The Benaki Museum of Greek Culture is housed in one of the most beautiful neoclassical-style buildings in Athens, near the National Garden and the Hellenic Parliament. It was converted into a museum in order to shelter the collections of Antonis Benakis and was donated to the Greek nation by himself and his three sisters, Alexandra, Penelope and Argine. Following its most recent refurbishment (1989–2000), the building houses a unique exhibition on Greek culture arranged diachronically from prehistory to the 20th century.
Central Part of Triptych: Christ Pantocrator. Period: Late Byzantine; circa: Second half of 13th – early 14th century. Place: Byzantium, Macedon. Technique: tempera on panel. Dimensions: 29,3×21,8×3,2 cm. The collection of the State Hermitage includes over 3 million works of art and world culture artefacts. It contains paintings, graphic works, sculptures, works of applied art, archaeological artefacts and numismatic objects. The Hermitage is considered to have been founded in 1764, when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of works from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. The museum celebrates the anniversary of its founding each year on 7 December, St. Catherine’s Day. Opening Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 10.30-18.00 Wednesday, Friday: 10.30-21.00 Closed: Monday.
Saint Luke, Manuscript, Period: Late Byzantine circa: early 13th century. Place: Nicomedia (Modern Izmit, Anatolia, Turkey) Materials: Tempera colors and gold leaf on parchment. Dimensions: Leaf: 20.6 × 14.9 cm (8 1/8 × 5 7/8 in.) Museum Description: “Before the Gospel of Saint Luke, the illuminator placed a portrait of the evangelist. Seated in an elaborate throne with his book open on his knees, Luke writes his Gospel, his account of Jesus’ life and teachings. The tradition of including author portraits in manuscripts began in antiquity; by the thirteenth century, the inclusion of portraits of the evangelists in Gospel books had become quite common. ”
The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles houses European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and photography from its beginnings to the present, gathered internationally.
Saint Mark. Period: Late Byzantine circa: late 13th century. Place: Constantinople (Place created) Dimensions: Leaf: 21 × 14.9 cm (8 1/4 × 5 7/8 in.). Museum Description: “Saint Mark pauses, quill in hand, as he writes his account of the life of Christ. This portrait of the saint as author introduces his Gospel in a Greek manuscript of the late 1200s. An inscription in red on the gold leaf background identifies the saint by name. ” The J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center in Los Angeles houses European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, decorative arts, and photography from its beginnings to the present, gathered internationally.
Altar Cloth or Podea. Period: Late Byzantine, circa: late 14th century. Made in: probably Greece or Constantinople. Materials: Silk, embroidery. Dimensions: 58 1/2 x 51 1/8 in. (148.6 x 129.9 cm).
Museum Description: “The double-headed eagle became the primary symbol of the state during the late Byzantine centuries and was also adopted for liturgical use. This huge eagle was probably used as an altar cloth or as a podea, a skirt hung beneath an icon. The inscription, which connects the owner with distinguished imperial dynasties, exaggerated the claims of a pretender to the patriarchal throne.”
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 303. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York) is one of the world’s largest and finest art museums. Its collection includes more than two million works of art spanning five thousand years of world culture, from prehistory to the present and from every part of the globe. Public Hours: 10:30 a.m.–5:30 p.m. Open seven days a week.
Cameo; red glass; quadrangular; Period: 13thC, Late Byzantine. Figure of St John the Baptist in relief with inscription. Made in: Venice. British Museum is closed 24, 25 and 26 December and 1 January, but is open every other day of the year.
Icon of St George, Period: Late Byzantine, circa: 13th century. Material: soapstone. Dimensions: 6,6 x 7,4 cm. The collection of the State Hermitage includes over 3 million works of art and world culture artefacts. It contains paintings, graphic works, sculptures, works of applied art, archaeological artefacts and numismatic objects. The Hermitage is considered to have been founded in 1764, when Empress Catherine the Great acquired an impressive collection of works from the Berlin merchant Johann Ernst Gotzkowsky. The museum celebrates the anniversary of its founding each year on 7 December, St. Catherine’s Day. Opening Hours: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, Sunday: 10.30-18.00 Wednesday, Friday: 10.30-21.00 Closed: Monday.
Saint Luke, Byzantine Manuscript, cutting from a Greek Bible. Period: Late Byzantine circa: 1200–25. The MFA is open 7 days a week. Monday and Tuesday 10 am–5 pm, Wednesday–Friday 10 am–10 pm, Saturday and Sunday 10 am–5 pm.
Virgin and Child, Medium: tempera and gold on wood, Type of art work: Painting, Period: Late Byzantine, circa: 1400s. Framed: 63.5 x 50.8 x 10.1 cm (25 x 20 x 4 in.); Unframed: 38.5 x 29.3 cm (15 1/8 x 11 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Art Museum Hours: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, Sundays 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. Wednesdays, Fridays 10:00 a.m.–9:00 p.m. Closed Mondays.