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Jewish Art in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium

• 
  Hexagonal Bottle, 500–629
  Byzantine; Possibly from Syria
  Glass, mold-blown; H. 3 3/16 in. (8.1 cm)
  Bequest of Walter C. Baker, 1971 (1972.118.180)
  
• 

  Bowl Base with Old and New Testament Scenes, ca. 350–400
  Byzantine, said to have been found in 1715 in the Roman catacomb of Saint Callisto
  Glass, gold leaf; 3/16 x 4 3/16 in. (0.5 x 10.7 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1916 (16.174.2)

• 

  Bowl Base with Saints Peter and Paul Flanking a Column with the Christogram of Christ, made late 300s
  Byzantine, from Rome
  Glass, gold leaf; Diam. 3 7/8 x 1/4 in. (9.9 x 0.6 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1916 (16.174.3)

• 
  Lamp with Jewish Symbols, made 350–450
  Byzantine
  Terracotta; 1 3/8 x 3 1/4 x 2 3/8 in. (3.5 x 8.2 x 6 cm)
  Edward C. Moore Collection, Bequest of Edward C. Moore, 1891 (91.1.1621)
• 
  Bowl Fragments with Menorah, Shofar, and Torah Ark, 4th century
  Roman or Byzantine
  Glass, gold leaf; 2 11/16 x 2 3/4 x 1/4 in. (6.9 x 7 x .64 cm)
  Rogers Fund, 1918 (18.145.1 ab)
  

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In the first centuries C.E., Jewish communities could be found in every corner of the Roman empire, from Sardis (Turkey) to Ostia (Italy), from Hamman Lif (Tunisia) to Intercisa (Hungary). The archaeological remnants and literary attestations of more than 150 synagogues throughout the empire make clear that Jews were integral to the urban landscape of late antiquity, well beyond the borders of Roman Palestine.

In early Byzantine synagogues, specifically Jewish symbols—shofarot (ram's horns), menorot (branched lamps), and Torah shrines—might appear alongside pomegranates, birds, lions, and fountains.

Related

Cited Works of Art or Images (6)

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Timelines (10)

• Ancient Greece, 1–500 a.d.
• Arabian Peninsula, 1–500 a.d.
• Arabian Peninsula, 500–1000 a.d.
• Asia Minor (Anatolia and the Caucasus), 1–500 a.d.
• Balkan Peninsula, 500–1000 a.d.
• Central Europe (including Germany), 500–1000 a.d.
• Egypt, 1–500 a.d.
• Iraq (Mesopotamia) 500–1000 a.d.
• Italian Peninsula, 1–500 a.d.
• The Eastern Mediterranean, 1–500 a.d.

Primary Thematic Essays (5)

• Jews and the Arts in Medieval Europe
• Medicine in the Middle Ages
• The Julio-Claudian Dynasty (27 B.C.–68 A.D.)
• The Roman Empire (27 B.C.–393 A.D.)
• The Year One

Other Thematic Essays (26)

• Animals in Medieval Art
• Art and Death in Medieval Byzantium
• Astronomy and Astrology in the Medieval Islamic World
• Byzantine Art under Islam
• Byzantium (ca. 330–1453)
• Egyptian Tombs: Life Along the Nile
• Folios from the Jami' al-tavarikh (Compendium of Chronicles)
• Frescoes and Wall Painting in Late Byzantine Art
• Icons and Iconoclasm in Byzantium
• Life of Jesus of Nazareth
• List of Rulers of Byzantium
• List of Rulers of the Roman Empire
• Medieval Aquamanilia
• Painting the Life of Christ in Medieval and Renaissance Italy
• Roman Glass
• Roman Inscriptions
• Roman Mosaic and Network Glass
• Roman Sarcophagi
• Saints and Other Sacred Byzantine Figures
• Sardis
• The Birth and Infancy of Christ in Italian Painting
• The Byzantine City of Amorium
• The Crucifixion and Passion of Christ in Italian Painting
• The Flavian Dynasty (69–96)
• The Religious Arts under the Ilkhanids
• Trade Between the Empires of Asia and Rome

Maps (5)

• Europe, 1-500 A.D.
• Europe, 500-1000 A.D.
• West Asia, 1-500 A.D.
• World, 1-500 A.D.
• World, 500-1000 A.D.

Index Terms (22)

Art Movement/Style

• Byzantine Art from Africa and Egypt
• Byzantine Art from Europe
• Byzantine Art from West Asia

Material and Technique

• Ceramic from Africa and Egypt
• Ceramic from the Italian Peninsula
• Unglazed Ceramic from Europe
• Glass from Europe
• Glass from West Asia
• Gold Leaf
• Gold from Europe

Object

• Lamp
• Incense Burner
• Deep Vessel (Cup or Bowl)
• Deep Vessel from West Asia
• Vessel from Africa and Egypt
• Vessel from the Italian Peninsula
• Vessel from West Asia

Subject Matter/Theme

• Secular Jewish Art
• Judaica
• Christian Vessel
• Vessel in Jewish Art
• Trade (1–500 a.d.)

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Asia Minor, in particular, boasted numerous, and often prosperous, Jewish communities. The third-century synagogue in the Roman garrison town of Dura-Europos, like the Christian meeting house and the shrine devoted to the Persian god Mithras that stood just yards away, was adorned with sumptuous painting. Splendid murals with narrative scenes from the Bible covered the synagogue's walls; painted tiles of zodiacal symbols ornamented its ceiling. Plaques with dedicatory inscriptions give some indication of the individuals and families who funded the building of such synagogues.

In building their monuments, Jews often embraced the Greco-Roman practice of paving the floor with elaborate mosaics, many of which demonstrate an understanding of the second commandment injunction against image making that may surprise today's viewer. In early Byzantine synagogues such as Hamman Lif in North Africa and Beth Alpha, Hammath Tiberias, and Sepphoris in Israel, specifically Jewish symbols—shofarot (ram's horns), menorot (branched lamps), and Torah shrines—might appear alongside pomegranates, birds, lions, and fountains. Zodiac wheels with human figures also find a prominent place in the pavements of several synagogues, dated from the fourth to the sixth centuries, as do scenes drawn from the Bible or allegorized images of the River Nile.

After the destruction of the Second Temple by Roman emperor Titus in 70 C.E—an event commemorated on the Arch of Titus in Rome and in Jewish liturgy—images of the Temple's furnishings, especially the celebrated gold menorah, or seven-branched lamp, became emblematic of Jewish religion. Marble sarcophagi favored by wealthy Romans were adapted for Jewish use by incorporating a stylized relief image of a menorah. In the catacombs of Rome, Jews placed gold glass disks representing the menorah and Torah arks at their tombs, as well as symbols of the festival of Sukkot (18.145.1a,b), just as Christians placed glass disks showing saints (16.174.3). All these images reference the destroyed Temple and invoke a hoped-for messianic age when the Temple would be restored. So wide-ranging are the contexts for the menorot that it is clear the symbol frequently served merely to distinguish a Jewish monument or a Jewish patron. Seven-branched candlesticks appear in Roman and Byzantine art: in graffiti in the catacombs, inscribed on plaques, as a motif on seals, as decoration on glass bottles (1972.118.180) and on clay lamps (91.1.1621), all further testimony to the integration of Jews into late Roman and early Byzantine society.

Barbara Drake Boehm Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Melanie Holcomb Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Citation Boehm, Barbara Drake and Melanie Holcomb. "Jewish Art in Late Antiquity and Early Byzantium". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000–. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/jewa/hd_jewa.htm (June 2008) Further Reading Bleiberg, Edward Tree of Paradise: Jewish Mosaics from the Roman Empire. Brooklyn: Brooklyn Museum, 2005. Dothan, Moshe Hammath Tiberias. 2 vols.. Jerusalem: Israel Exploration Society, 1983. Fine, Steven Art and Judaism in the Greco-Roman World: Toward a New Jewish Archaeology. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Fine, Steven, ed. Sacred Realm: The Emergence of the Synagogue in the Ancient World. New York: Oxford University Press, 1996. Suggested Online Resources A Great Assemblage: An Exhibit of Judaica The History of the Jews of Tunisia Related exhibitions and online features Special Exhibitions (including upcoming, current, and past exhibitions)