Silver

Cloisonné Enamel

Literally meaning "cell work," the technique of cloisonné involved the construction of small cells or compartments, called cloisons, made from wire or thin strips of metal bent to form the outline of a design. These shapes were soldered, edge on, to the surface of a metal plate. The resulting walled-in spaces were filled with glass paste, or enamel, in various colors and fired. Since the molten glass tended to sink in its cell as it cooled, it was usually necessary to refill the cloisons with glass and refire the object, sometimes several times. The final step was grinding and polishing the composite surface of glass and metal.

Byzantine manuscripts (literally "written by hand") often reflected a deep devotion to Christianity and the state through the luxurious art on the parchment. Scribes, whose chief task was creating the script, and illuminators, who usually painted pictures in books after the scribe had made the text, mainly worked on copies of the Bible, collections of saints' lives, and sermons. They also produced illustrated volumes of classical Greek poetry, drama, philosophy, history, and secular poetry, as well as manuals on the law, veterinary science, military tactics, poisons, and medicinal plants. Although richly decorated at times, most of the nonreligious works had rather simple pictures that were intended merely to clarify meaning.

Byzantine illuminators, who sometimes were scribes themselves, were influenced by mosaics, sculpture, and metalwork. To create their works of art, illuminators first made a sketch in the space left by the scribe, then covered it with opaque colors. Sometimes the paintings were made on a separate sheet, which was added to the book when it was bound. One of the most common Byzantine book illustrations was the author's portrait in each of the Gospels, in which the evangelist author is usually shown sitting in his study, writing or pausing to reflect, sometimes looking toward the text of the facing page.

Silk was always considered a luxury product in Byzantium; it was sold by weight and bought on speculation. Byzantium first imported silk from China and elsewhere; then, in the year 553/4, under Emperor Justinian I, silk moth eggs were reportedly smuggled into the empire by some monks who had learned the secrets of silk production in the Far East. From the seventh century onward the center of the Byzantine silk industry was Constantinople. Made either in imperial factories, located both within and near the emperor's Great Palace, or in private workshops, silk was used to make court and church clothing, altar cloths, curtains, couch fabrics, wall hangings, and embroidery. The Byzantine state tightly controlled its manufacture and trade and guaranteed its quality. This meant that Byzantine silks were used as an instrument of Byzantine foreign policy, since these highly esteemed fabrics could be acquired by states outside Byzantium only as official gifts or tribute.

Most of the Byzantine silks still in existence date from the tenth and eleventh centuries. They mainly come from church treasuries of western Europe, where they were often used to wrap the venerated remains of saints or objects associated with them. Their brightly colored designs in twill weave, created on draw looms, include rows of animals, such as eagles; series of lions, griffins, and elephants in circles; hunting scenes; and images of Byzantine emperors.