ticketsMember | Make a donation

Panel with St. Peter or St. Paul (?)

500s
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300
Early images of religious figures are often difficult to identify. The book the man holds may mean that he is an evangelist, one of the authors of the four Gospels. His round face, short, curly beard, and balding head are typical for depictions of Saint Peter, but the lack of keys, which become a standard attribute of the saint, makes that identification uncertain. The nail holes on the edges of the ivory suggest that it may have been one of the many Byzantine ivories used to decorate the covers of religious texts when these were later taken to the West.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Panel with St. Peter or St. Paul (?)
  • Date: 500s
  • Geography: Made in Byzantine Egypt
  • Culture: Byzantine
  • Medium: Elephant ivory
  • Dimensions: Overall: 9 1/8 x 4 1/8 x 5/16 in. (23.1 x 10.5 x 0.8 cm)
  • Classification: Ivories-Elephant
  • Credit Line: Gift of George Blumenthal, 1941
  • Object Number: 41.100.156
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

More Artwork
A slider containing 5 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Plaque with Christ Receiving Magdeburg Cathedral from Emperor Otto I, Elephant ivory, Ottonian
Plaque with Christ Receiving Magdeburg Cathedral from Emperor Otto I
Ottonian
ca. 962–968
Icon with the Koimesis, Elephant ivory, Byzantine
Icon with the Koimesis
Byzantine
late 900s
Icon with the Crucifixion, Elephant ivory, Byzantine
Icon with the Crucifixion
Byzantine
mid-10th century
Plaque with the Virgin Mary as a Personification of the Church, Elephant ivory, Carolingian
Plaque with the Virgin Mary as a Personification of the Church
Carolingian
ca. 800–825
Panel of a Diptych Announcing the Consulship of Justinian, Ivory, Byzantine
Panel of a Diptych Announcing the Consulship of Justinian
Byzantine
521

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.