Pendant Brooch with Cameo of Enthroned Virgin and Child and Christ Pantokrator

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The elaborately carved cameo depicts the enthroned Virgin and Christ Child flanked by archangels, a subject often depicted in the apse of Orthodox churches. On the reverse of the gold case is an image of Christ Pantokrator, which would have been found in the dome of a church. The frame is typical of the Rus’, peoples of the north who had been converted by the Orthodox Christian clergy of Constantinople and who thus prized Byzantine works.

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