Temple Pendant with Filigree Border

Date:: 11th–12th century

Geography:: Made in Kiev

Culture:: Kievan Rus'

Medium:: Silver, niello

Dimensions:: Overall: 2 x 2 3/16 x 5/8 in. (5.1 x 5.5 x 1.6 cm)

Classification:: Metalwork-Silver

Credit Line:: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917

Accession Number:: 17.190.708

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300

These temple pendants are decorated on one side with griffins, mythical creatures popular in Byzantine art, and on the other with interlace patterns that may relate to the Viking traditions of the Rus’ founders.

[ Durlacher Brothers, London (sold 1907)]; J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (1907–1913)

Brown, Katharine Reynolds. "Russo-Byzantine Jewellery in the Metropolitan Museum of Art." Apollo 111 (January 1980). pp. 6-9, fig. 14-15.

Evans, Helen C., and William D. Wixom, ed. The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1997. no. 212D, pp. 309-11.

Evans, Helen C., Melanie Holcomb, and Robert Hallman. "The Arts of Byzantium." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 58, no. 4 (Spring 2001). p. 56.

Timelines
Eastern Europe and Scandinavia, 1000-1400 A.D.

The Glory of Byzantium: Art and Culture of the Middle Byzantine Era, A.D. 843–1261
"The Arts of Byzantium": The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 58, no. 4 (Spring, 2001)

Department

Medieval Art (7,095)

Object Type / Material

Geographic Location

Date / Era

A.D. 1000–1400 (6,896)

Temple Pendant with Two Sirens Flanking a Tree of Life (front) and Confronted Birds (back)

Artist: Date: 11th–12th century
Accession Number: 17.190.680 Date: 11th–12th century Medium: Cloisonné enamel, gold Accession: 17.190.680 On view in:Gallery 300

Temple Pendant with Filigree Border

Artist: Date: 11th–12th century
Accession Number: 17.190.709 Date: 11th–12th century Medium: Silver, niello Accession: 17.190.709 On view in:Gallery 300

Chain with Birds and Geometric Motifs

Artist: Date: 1000–1200
Accession Number: 17.190.681 Date: 1000–1200 Medium: Cloisonné enamel, gold Accession: 17.190.681 On view in:Gallery 300

One of a Pair of Temple Pendants, with Busts of Male Saints Holding Martyr's Cross (front) and Leaf and Rosette Motifs (back)

Artist: Date: 11th–12th century
Accession Number: 17.190.699 Date: 11th–12th century Medium: Cloisonné enamel, gold, pearls Accession: 17.190.699 On view in:Gallery 300

One of a Pair of Temple Pendants, with Two Birds Flanking a Tree of Life (front) and Leaf and Rosette Motifs (back)

Artist: Date: 11th–12th century
Accession Number: 17.190.700 Date: 11th–12th century Medium: Cloisonné enamel, gold Accession: 17.190.700 On view in:Gallery 300