Detail View: The AMICA Library: Revetments from an Icon of the Virgin

AMICA ID: 
MMA_.17.190.644-.648
AMICA Library Year: 
2002
Object Type: 
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Description: 
These revetments were once part of a cover for an icon of the Virgin Hagiosoritissa, or "Virgin of the Holy Soros (Reliquary Chest) ." Named for the church in Constantinople in which the original icon was kept, this popular icon type displays the Virgin turning to the side with her hands raised in a gesture of supplication. The original icon would have included small semicircle at the upper left that displayed a small image of Christ in heaven to whom her prayers were directed. The central fragments formed part of the Virgin's halo, and the cut-out at the bottom left shows the contours of the Virgin's raised hands.
Creator Nationality: 
Asian; Anatolian; Byzantine
Creator Dates/Places: 
Made in Constantinople
Creator Name-CRT: 
Byzantine
Title: 
Revetments from an Icon of the Virgin
View: 
Principal view
Creation Date: 
ca. 1100
Creation Start Date: 
1080
Creation End Date: 
1120
Materials and Techniques: 
Cloisonné enamel, gold
Dimensions: 
Halo fragments: 5 1/4 x 1 1/2 in. (13.3 x 3.8 cm), 5 1/4 x 1 7/8 in. (13.3 x 4.8 cm); Background fragments: 2 1/4 x 4 1/4 in. (5.8 x 10.8 cm), 4 x 4 1/2 in. (10.2 x 11.4 cm), 5 x 3 3/8 in. (12.7 x 8.6 cm)
AMICA Contributor: 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: 
New York, New York
ID Number: 
17.190.644-.648
Credit Line: 
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Inscriptions: 
Inscribed in abbreviated Greek: Mother of God
Copyright: 
Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.
Rights: 
Related Image Identifier Link: 
MMA_.h1_17.190.644-d0.648.tif