The archangel Michael, commander of the heavenly host, became one of the most popular saints during Byzantium's last centuries. Depictions usually show him in the robes worn by the Byzantine emperor or dressed in armor.
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Artwork Details
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Title:Cameo with the Archangel Michael
Date:probably late 14th century
Culture:Byzantine
Medium:Sardonyx
Dimensions:Overall: 1 1/8 x 13/16 x 3/16 in. (2.8 x 2.1 x 0.4 cm)
Classification:Lapidary Work-Sardonyx
Credit Line:The Milton Weil Collection, 1940
Object Number:40.20.58
The end of the drill has punctuated the stone’s white zone, opening a semblance of space at Michael’s elbow and between his legs. The engraver also manipulated the white stratum so as to frame the image in an oval band. The perforation at the left must have been for attachment.
Inscription:
Dr. Leopold Seligmann, Cologne; Milton Weil Collection, New York (until 1940)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557)," March 23–July 4, 2004.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cameo Appearances," March 8–January 29, 2006.
Athens, GA. Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia. "Exuberance of Meaning: The Art Patronage of Catherine the Great (1762–96)," September 21, 2013–January 5, 2014.
Washington, DC. Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. "Exuberance of Meaning: The Art Patronage of Catherine the Great (1762–96)," February 1, 2014–June 7, 2014.
Ball, Herman, Paul Graupe, Paul Clemen, Otto von Falke, and Georg Swarzenski, ed. Die Sammlung Dr. Leopold Seligmann, Köln: eingeleitet von Paul Clemen, Otto von Falke und Georg Swarzenski. Berlin: Herman Ball & Paul Graupe, April 28–29, 1930. no. 52, fig. XIV.
Kris, Ernst. Catalogue of Postclassical Cameos in the Milton Weil Collection. Vienna, 1932. no. 4, p. 13, fig. II.
Rorimer, James J. "Reports of the Departments." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 71 (1940). p. 19.
Remington, Preston. "The Milton Weil Collection of Cameos and Intaglios." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, o.s., 35 (April 1940). pp. 76–77.
Evans, Helen C., ed. Byzantium: Faith and Power (1261-1557). New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2004. no. 147, pp. 214, 239.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Cameo Appearances." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 65, no. 4 (Spring 2008). p. 17, fig. 27.
Kirin, Asen, ed. Exuberance of Meaning: The Art Patronage of Catherine the Great (1762-1796). Athens, GA; Altona, CAN: Georgia Museum of Art, University of Georgia, 2013. no. 28, p. 162.
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