Reliquary Pendant

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Copper alloy reliquary crosses were popular in the Orthodox world in the Byzantine and post Byzantine centuries. The two halves of the reliquary were joined by a hinge and were meant to be worn on a chain. On the face of this work the crucified Christ appears flanked by the Virgin and John the Evangelist. He wears the colobium, an iconographic type established in the Early Christian centuries. On the reverse, the Virgin Mary (Mother of God) stands in an orant prayer pose with upraised hands. Flanking her on the arms of the cross are medallions with busts of the four evangelists holding their gospels. This face is similar to TR167.3.2017.

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