The Jaharis Byzantine Gospel Lectionary was until 2008 a hidden treasure: a manuscript almost entirely unknown, even to scholars. Superbly preserved, it represents the apogee of Constantinopolitan craftsmanship around the year 1100 and is arguably the most important Byzantine work to come to The Metropolitan Museum of Art's renowned collection since the gifts of J. Pierpont Morgan in 1917. For more than one thousand years, from its founding in Constantinople, New Rome (now Istanbul, Turkey), in 330 until its fall to the Ottoman Turks in 1453, the Byzantine Empire witnessed the creation of masterpieces of religious and secular art. During the Middle Byzantine era (ninth through thirteenth centuries), one of the greatest periods of Byzantine art, exquisitely illuminated manuscripts and splendid objects carved in ivory, marble, and gemstones, or worked in gold, silver, and cloisonné enamel, displayed the quality of the works created for the Orthodox Church. At that time the empire's territories reached from Greece and the Balkans to Anatolia in the east and from Syria to the lands of the newly converted Rus' (modern-day Ukraine and Russia) in the north. Over the last decade the Metropolitan Museum's exceptional collection of the arts of the Byzantine world has been handsomely reinstalled in the Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries for Byzantine Art. Long missing from the Metropolitan Museum's expansive collection of Middle Byzantine art, however, has been a superlative example of an illuminated book, one of the preeminent artistic traditions of the Byzantine Empire. Now, through the continued generosity of Mary and Michael Jaharis, the Metropolitan has acquired one of the finest illuminated liturgical texts of the era, the Jaharis Gospel Lectionary. In this important study John Lowden, a leading expert on Byzantine manuscripts, discusses this extraordinary work within the broader context of Byzantine book illumination. He traces the lectionary's history from its acquisition by the Metropolitan backward through Paris, Athens, Mount Athos, and Istanbul to its production in Constantinople. Through detailed analysis and comparison, accompanied by sumptuous color illustrations of the Jaharis Gospel Lectionary and other, closely related illuminated manuscripts, Professor Lowden shows that the lectionary was made for use in the patriarchal church of Hagia Sophia in Constantinople—the seat of the Orthodox Church and the primary site at which the emperor worshipped—or one of its nearby affiliated churches. This highly readable, groundbreaking publication of the Jaharis Gospel Lectionary represents a major addition to our knowledge of Byzantine illumination.

Just in time for the Christian observance of the Annunciation on March 25, a beautiful, serene sculpture of the Virgin Mary is on view in gallery 640 at The Met Fifth Avenue.

"If you look up into his face, you'd be struck by the silver in his eyes."—Luke Syson, curator

"He has that childish quality of doing something in public that absorbs him utterly."—Luke Syson, curator

“It's done in a very elevated way, but there's a great deal of humor here.”—Luke Syson, curator

Artist Mariko Mori reflects on Botticelli's _The Annunciation_ in this episode of The Artist Project.

The form of tin-glazed earthenware known as maiolica reveals much about the culture and spirit of Renaissance Italy. Engagingly decorative, often spectacularly colorful, sometimes whimsical or frankly bawdy, these magnificent objects, which were generally made for use rather than simple ornamentation, present a fascinating glimpse into the realities of daily life. Though not as well known as Renaissance painting and sculpture, maiolica is also prized by collectors and amateurs of the decorative arts the world over. This volume offers highlights of the world-class collection of maiolica at the Metropolitan Museum. It presents 135 masterpieces that reflect more than four hundred years of exquisite artistry, ranging from early pieces from Pesaro—including an eight-figure group of the Lamentation, the largest, most ambitious piece of sculpture produced in a Renaissance maiolica workshop—to everyday objects such as albarelli (pharmacy jars), bella donna plates, and humorous genre scenes. Each piece has been newly photographed for this volume, and each is presented with a full discussion, provenance, exhibition history, publication history, notes on form and glaze, and condition report. Two essays by Timothy Wilson, widely considered the foremost scholar in the field, provide overviews of the history and technique of maiolica as well as an account of the formation of The Met's collection. Also featured is a wide-ranging introduction by Luke Syson that examines how the function of an object governed the visual and compositional choices made by the pottery painter. As the latest volume in The Met's series of decorative arts highlights, Maiolica is an invaluable resource for scholars and collectors as well as an absorbing general introduction to a multifaceted subject.

The life of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Christian Bible has been a principal subject for art since the late Roman empire.