Panel from a Cover for an Icon of the Virgin

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These panels were once part of a cover for an icon of the Virgin Hagiosoritissa, or Virgin of the Holy Soros (reliquary chest). Named for the church in Constantinople that contained the original icon of the type, this popular middle Byzantine icon shows the Virgin turning to the side with her hands raised in a gesture of prayer.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art