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Triptych with the Mandylion

1637
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 303
The frame honors the acheiropoieta, "not made by human hands," icon of Christ. The narratives on the doors tell its history from Christ’s leaving his image on the cloth with which he wiped his face on his way to Calvary through the cloth’s role as the protector of the kingdom of Edessa (in modern Turkey) and then its transfer to the Byzantine imperial capital in 944. In 1380 Muscovite armies, following the image on a battle standard, defeated the Mongols at the famous battle of Kulikovo. This elegant later work demonstrates the icon’s continuing importance to the Muscovite court.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Triptych with the Mandylion
  • Maker: The Kremlin Armory Workshops, Moscow (Russian, Moscow, recorded from 1511–about 1715)
  • Artist: Russian Painter , early 17th century
  • Date: 1637
  • Culture: Russian, Moscow
  • Medium: Silver, partly gilt, niello, enamel, sapphires, rubies, spinels, pearls, leather, silk velvet, oil paint, gesso, linen, mica, pig-skin, woods: Tilia cordata (basswood or linden), white oak
  • Dimensions: Overall (open, confirmed): 27 × 35 3/4 × 5 in. (68.6 × 90.8 × 12.7 cm)
  • Classifications: Metalwork-Silver In Combination, Paintings
  • Credit Line: Rogers Fund, 1975
  • Object Number: 1975.87
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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