Highlights from the Late Roman / Byzantine Collection at the Met in NYC

Two silver plaques showing Saint Peter and Saint Paul, late 6th century.

I recently had the pleasure of visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City with my daughter. It had been about 25 years since I had last visited, and I didn't remember very much about it. One thing that I definitely did not recall from two-and-a-half decades ago was the small but outstanding late Roman / Byzantine collection.

For once, I was able to take some fairly high-quality photos, so I figured I would share a few highlights.

To begin with, the two silver plaques shown above caught my eye immediately. They feature images of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and were identified as having been made in the late 6th century AD. Above the images of the saints may be seen peacocks which were popular Christian motifs symbolizing immortality. Another silver plaque may be seen below:

Silver plaque depicting two saints holding a cross, 6th century.

Here we see two saints, possibly the evangelists Saint John and Saint Matthew, depicted in silver with a large cross between them. The placard below speculated that the plaque may have formed the cover of a religious book.

Perhaps my favorite piece in the collection was this large gold and silver processional cross:

Middle Byzantine processional cross, front. Click to enlarge.

The placard describing the piece said it was a probably made during the 11th century AD. The front of the cross shows Christ in the central medallion, flanked by the Blessed Mother and Saint John the Baptist. Above is a medallion showing the archangel Michael with Gabriel below. On the back of the cross are more medallions showing the archangels Raphael and Uriel at the top and bottom, with Saints Nicholas and John Chrysostom on the arms of the cross. In the central medallion on the back is pictured Saint Thalelaios, along with an inscription at the base identifying the cross as a votive offering from a bishop named Leo. The back of the cross may be seen below.

Middle Byzantine processional cross, back. Click to enlarge.

Nearby the cross was this magnificent book:

Byzantine Lectionary, possibly from Hagia Sophia, 12 century AD.

This illuminated lectionary gives an idea of what a liturgical book from the early 12th century would have looked like. Even 900 years later, the colors are vibrant and the Greek script is clear.

Then, there was the ivory. Here are two examples from the middle Byzantine period. The top one is a casket showing hunting scenes.

Bone casket identified as 12th century Italian or Byzantine. Click to enlarge.

The next are panels from a casket that has long since fallen to pieces. They show scenes from the biblical Book of Joshua, but the cool thing is that the warriors are depicted in late Roman military garb reflective of the Justinianic mosaics in Ravenna complete with javelins, mailed kilts and oval shields. The panels are identified as having been manufactured sometime from AD 900-1100, but based on how the soldiers are attired, I might speculate that it's somewhat older.

Ivory casket panels, 10th-12th century AD. Click to enlarge.

One of the most fascinating objects on display was this bronze hanging lamp. The placard accompanying it identified it as a votive offering possibly left to a church in thanksgiving for the cure of an ailment of the hand. There is an inscription in Greek saying "Christ help me," and another one saying, "Saints Cosmas and Damian be praised."

Bronze hanging lamp, 6th century AD. Click to enlarge.

I managed to get a really detailed photo of this next item thanks in large part to the good lighting in the area--no flash allowed in the museum. Here we see a heavy gold belt made up of Roman solidi and medallions from various imperial reigns.

Belt made of late Roman gold solidi. Click to enlarge.

Emperors featured on these coins included Theodosius II, Justin I, Justinian, and Maurice. Since the majority of the coins feature Maurice and his coins are the most recent, the belt has been dated to the late 6th century AD and it is speculated that the belt may have been worn as part of the insignia of a high political office.

Finally, we encountered this spectacular floor mosaic showing a late Roman woman. It is pictured below with my very modern daughter for scale:

Early 6th century mosaic showing a personification of Ktisis. 

According to the museum's website, Ktisis is the personification of generous giving and the fact that she is holding a measuring tool may indicate that the mosaic was positioned to honor the benefactor responsible for the construction of a building.

Our trip was a bit of a whirlwind and we were only able to spend about three hours in the museum. But it was enough to get a good taste of the collection and to spend some quality time with late antiquity. Not shown here are the many items from the Greco-Roman, American, Asian, Medieval, Persian and ancient Egyptian collections which we also enjoyed thoroughly.