These nine medallions are from a group of twelve that once surrounded an icon of the archangel Gabriel. The medallions may have been sent as a gift from the Byzantine court to the neighboring Christian state of Georgia. The three medallions across the top form a Deesis, with Christ between the Virgin and Saint John the Forerunner (the Baptist). Below is the hierarchy of the Church: apostles (Saints Peter and Paul), evangelists (Saints Matthew and Luke), theologians (Saint John the Theologian), and, across the base, military saints (Saint George).
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Group 17.190.670-.678
Artwork Details
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Title:Medallion with the Virgin from an Icon Frame
Date:ca. 1100
Geography:Made in Constantinople
Culture:Byzantine
Medium:Gold, silver, and enamel worked in cloisonné
Dimensions:Diam: 3 1/4 in. (8.3 cm) Mount: 20 1/2 x 15 x 7/8 in. (52.1 x 38.1 x 2.2 cm)
Classification:Enamels-Cloisonné
Credit Line:Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number:17.190.675
Inscription: Inscribed: In Greek, on each medallion, an identification of the figure represented: Jesus Christ, Mother of God, John the Precursor, Saint Peter, Saint Paul, Saint Matthew, Saint Luke, Saint John the Theologian, and Saint George.
Djumati Monastery, Georgia ; Alex W. von Zvenigorodskii, Russia (sold 1910 through Jacques Seligmann); J. Pierpont Morgan (American), London and New York (until 1917)
Suermondt-Ludwig-Museum. "Exhibition," 1884.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Glory of Byzantium," March 11–July 6, 1997.
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Linas, Charles de. "Emaillerie Byzantine, la Collection Svenigorodskoi Exposee a Aix-la-Chapelle." Revue de l'Art Chretien 28 (1885). pp. 203, 218.
Molinier, Emile. L'émaillerie. Paris: Hachette, 1891. p. 37.
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Breck, Joseph, and Meyric R. Rogers. The Pierpont Morgan Wing: A Handbook. 1st ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1925. p. 55, fig. 28, ill. p. 53.
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Rorimer, James J., and William Holmes Forsyth. "The Medieval Galleries." The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, n.s., 12, no. 6 (February 1954). pp. 123, 127.
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Howard, Kathleen, ed. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Guide. 2nd ed. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1994. no. 20, p. 379.
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