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

11th–12th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300
When Kievan Rus, a powerful new state to the north of the Byzantine Empire, accepted Christianity as its official religion in 988, the aristocracy also adopted the manners and dress of the Byzantine court. Local artists soon produced their own versions of Constatinopolitan fashions. This temple pendant of precious metals worked in cloisonné enamel or niello are local variants of the more intricately detailed works made for the Byzantine court.

As in Byzantium, temple pendants may have been worn next to the face by both the men and the women of Rus. The works shown here were perhaps buried by their owners when the Mongol armies under Batu Khan sacked Kiev in 1240.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Temple Pendant with Two Sirens Flanking a Tree of Life (front) and Confronted Birds (back)
  • Date: 11th–12th century
  • Geography: Made in Kyiv, Ukraine
  • Culture: Kyivan Rus’
  • Medium: Cloisonné enamel, gold
  • Dimensions: Overall: 2 3/8 x 2 1/4 x 9/16 in. (6 x 5.7 x 1.4 cm)
  • Classification: Enamels-Cloisonné
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.680
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

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Chain with Birds and Geometric Motifs, Cloisonné enamel, gold, Kyivan Rus’
Chain with Birds and Geometric Motifs
Kyivan Rus’
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Temple Pendant with Two Birds Flanking a Tree of Life (front) and Geometric Lead Motifs (back), Gold, silver, and enamel worked in cloisonné, Kyivan Rus’
Temple Pendant with Two Birds Flanking a Tree of Life (front) and Geometric Lead Motifs (back)
Kyivan Rus’
ca. 1000–1200
One of a Pair of Temple Pendants, with Busts of Male Saints Holding Martyr's Cross (front) and Leaf and Rosette Motifs (back), Cloisonné enamel, gold, Kyivan Rus’
One of a Pair of Temple Pendants, with Busts of Male Saints Holding Martyr's Cross (front) and Leaf and Rosette Motifs (back)
Kyivan Rus’
11th–12th century
One of a Pair of Temple Pendants, with Busts of Male Saints Holding Martyr's Cross (front) and Leaf and Rosette Motifs (back), Cloisonné enamel, gold, pearls, Kyivan Rus’
One of a Pair of Temple Pendants, with Busts of Male Saints Holding Martyr's Cross (front) and Leaf and Rosette Motifs (back)
Kyivan Rus’
11th–12th century
One of a Pair of Temple Pendants, with Two Birds Flanking a Tree of Life (front) and Leaf and Rosette Motifs (back), Cloisonné enamel, gold, Kyivan Rus’
One of a Pair of Temple Pendants, with Two Birds Flanking a Tree of Life (front) and Leaf and Rosette Motifs (back)
Kyivan Rus’
11th–12th century

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