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Gain access to this incredible resource through either a monthly or a yearly subscription and search the entire collection from your desktop, compare multiple images side by side and zoom into the minute details of the images. Visit www.davidrumsey.com/amica for more information on the collection, click on the link below the revolving thumbnail to the right, or email us at amica@luna-img.com . Creator Nationality: Asian; Anatolian; Byzantine Creator Name-CRT: Byzantine Title: Box and Cover with Sleeping Eros View: Principal view Creation Start Date: 300 Creation End Date: 399 Creation Date: 4th Century Creation Place: Said to be from Tartus, Syria Object Type: Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects Materials and Techniques: silver Dimensions: 3 x 9 3/4 x 3 3/4 in. (7.6 x 24.8 x 9.5 cm) Description: This fourth-century Byzantine silver box is said to be from Tartus, in Syria. Small silver boxes like this one, decorated with embossed figures and objects, could have been used to hold a wide variety of precious objects. The cover of this box depicts Eros, or Cupid, the god of love, asleep on a lion's skin with his bow and quiver in hand. Although a lesser figure in Greek and Roman mythology, Eros is widely represented in art throughout the ages. He is most often symbolic in purpose, serving as a reminder that the theme of the piece on which he is portrayed is love. The bow Eros holds and the lion skin on which he rests both symbolize strength; more specifically, the bow suggests the power of love to disarm even the strong. The sides of the box are decorated with putti holding garlands of flowers and ribbons between them. Putti are a younger and more childlike version of Eros and act as his attendants. They may have inspired early Christian representations of angels. Each end of the box is decorated with the head of a bull, an object of worship in early religions because of the bull's strength and virility. The decoration of this box shows that the traditions of the Greek and Roman periods remained important in the region even as Christianity became the dominant religion. AMICA Contributor: The Metropolitan Museum of Art Owner Location: New York, New York ID Number: 47.100.33 Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1947 Copyright: Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved. Rights: http://www.metmuseum.org/education/er_photo_lib.asp AMICA ID: MMA_.47.100.33 AMICA Library Year: 2002 Media Metadata Rights: Copyright (c) 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All Rights Reserved AMICA PUBLIC RIGHTS: a) Access to the materials is granted for personal and non-commercial use. b) A full educational license for non-commercial use is available from Cartography Associates at www.davidrumsey.com/amica/institution_subscribe.html c) Licensed users may continue their examination of additional materials provided by Cartography Associates, and d) commercial rights are available from the rights holder. Home
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