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Medieval Mediterranean

Centre Street, Third Floor

Arts of the Medieval Mediterranean brings together works from the Walters’ medieval European and Islamic collections to illuminate the diversity and historic interconnectivity of cultures and artistic traditions around the Mediterranean Sea during the medieval period. Using new object groupings to illustrate the exchanges that occurred, the installation focuses on the interactions between cultures and religions, such as between Christian and Islamic Spain, North Africa and Sicily, and within the Levant during the Crusader period.

Located on Level 3 of the Centre Street building, the display is divided between two galleries: Arts of the Medieval Mediterranean, a new permanent installation, and The People of the Book: Medieval Mediterranean Manuscripts, a temporary installation of manuscripts, textiles, and light-sensitive materials in the adjoining space.

Featuring approximately 100 works, including 20 manuscripts and textiles and 68 works permanently installed, the galleries include standout objects such as two gilt and enameled glass beakers with Christian scenes and Arabic inscriptions, as well as the Ben Ezra Torah Ark door, part of the sacred architecture of a Jewish synagogue in Islamic Cairo, and The Conradin Bible illuminated by a southern Italian artist working in a Byzantine style. The works are placed to draw connections across cultures and collections.

Arts of the Medieval Mediterranean focuses on themes of architecture and the environment, the shared tradition of aquamanilia (a type of ewer or jug often in the form of animals or people), commerce and exchange, ivories, inscriptions and pseudo-script, pilgrimage and ritual, lusterware across continents and centuries, and light and illumination.

The People of the Book draws upon the Walters’ world-renowned collection of rare books and manuscripts, which spans more than 1,000 years and contains over 900 manuscripts, 1,300 of the earliest printed books, and 2,000 rare later editions from across the globe; it also includes textiles from both Coptic Christian and Muslim communities in medieval Egypt.

Detail image for Medieval Mediterranean

Curators: Christine Sciacca, Curator of European Art, 300-1400 CE; Ashley Dimmig, Guest Curator and former Wieler-Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow in Islamic Art

This installation is generously funded by Supporters of the Walters Art Museum. To support future projects and the ongoing rotation of objects on display at the Walters, please consider making a gift.

Image:
Beakers, Syria, ca. 1260. by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.

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Image for Tetradrachm of Syracuse

Tetradrachm of Syracuse

Greek Artist
478-472 BCE (Early Classical)
59.515
On view
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Image for Spindle whorl

Spindle whorl

Byzantine Artist
3rd-8th century
71.551
On view
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Image for Spindle whorl

Spindle whorl

Byzantine Artist
3rd-8th century
71.552
On view
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Image for Needle

Needle

3rd-4th century
71.1095
On view
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Image for Menorah Token

Menorah Token

Byzantine Artist
4th-6th century (Late Antique)
55.100
On view
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Image for Coin of Constantine I

Coin of Constantine I

Roman Artist
313-317 CE (Late Antique)
59.683
On view
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Image for Coin of Helena Augusta

Coin of Helena Augusta

Roman Artist
318-319 CE (Late Antique)
59.638
On view
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Image for Oil Lamp

Oil Lamp

Byzantine Artist
5th-6th century (Late Antique)
54.63
On view
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Image for Oil Lamp with a Cross

Oil Lamp with a Cross

Byzantine Artist
5th-7th century (Late Antique)
54.54
On view
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Image for Bust of an Empress

Bust of an Empress

Byzantine Artist
5th century (Late Antique)
54.2294
On view
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Image for Polycandelion with Glass Lamps

Polycandelion with Glass Lamps

Byzantine Artist
6th-8th century (Late Antique)
54.2466
On view
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Image for Censer with Scenes from the Life of Christ

Censer with Scenes from the Life of Christ

Syrian Artist
7th-8th century (Early Medieval)
54.2575
On view
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Image for Inscribed Pound Weight

Inscribed Pound Weight

Syrian Artist
126 AH/AD 743 (Early Medieval)
47.6
On view
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Image for Lusterware Bowl

Lusterware Bowl

Egyptian Artist
10th century (Medieval)
48.2037
On view
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Image for Gold Jewelry Elements

Gold Jewelry Elements

late 10th-early 11th century (Medieval)
57.1596
On view
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Image for Horn with Animals in Vine Scrolls

Horn with Animals in Vine Scrolls

Italian Artist
11th century (Medieval)
71.234
On view
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Image for Plaque with Figural Scene

Plaque with Figural Scene

Egyptian Artist
11th-12th century (Medieval)
71.563
On view
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Image for Plaque with Figural Scene

Plaque with Figural Scene

Egyptian Artist
11th-12th century (Fatimid)
71.562
On view
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Image for Capital with Steer's Head Held by Two Lions

Capital with Steer's Head Held by Two Lions

Italian (?) Artist
11th century (Medieval)
27.567
On view
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Image for Aquamanile (Handwasher) in the Form of a Cheetah

Aquamanile (Handwasher) in the Form of a Cheetah

Italian (?) Artist
11th-13th century (Medieval)
54.2434
On view
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Image for Lusterware Plate with Bird Motif

Lusterware Plate with Bird Motif

Egyptian Artist
11th century (Medieval)
48.2036
On view
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Image for Panel from a Torah Ark Door

Panel from a Torah Ark Door

Egyptian Artist
11th century with later carving and paint (Medieval)
64.181
On view
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Image for Coffer

Coffer

Sicilian Artist
12th-13th century (Medieval)
71.310
On view
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Image for Box (Pyx)

Box (Pyx)

Sicilian Artist
12th-13th century (Medieval)
71.314
On view
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Image for Ivory Plaque with Peacock

Ivory Plaque with Peacock

Egyptian Artist
12th century (Medieval)
71.566
On view
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Image for Capital with Acanthus Leaves

Capital with Acanthus Leaves

French Sculptor
12th century (Medieval)
27.582
On view
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Image for Box (Pyx)

Box (Pyx)

Sicilian Artist
12th-13th century (Medieval)
71.311
On view
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Image for Gold Coin (Hyperpyron) of John II Comnenus

Gold Coin (Hyperpyron) of John II Comnenus

Byzantine Artist
1118-1143 (Medieval)
59.712
On view
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Image for Game Piece with Figures in a Castle

Game Piece with Figures in a Castle

German (?) Artist
mid 12th century (Medieval)
71.221
On view
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Image for Dirhem of Najm al-Din Alpi

Dirhem of Najm al-Din Alpi

Turkish Artist
1152-1176 (Artuquid of Mardin)
59.799
On view
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Image for Comb with Peacocks, Cheetah, and Scrolls

Comb with Peacocks, Cheetah, and Scrolls

Sicilian Artist
late 12th century
71.58
On view
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Image for Dirhem of Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan

Dirhem of Husam al-Din Yuluq Arslan

Turkish Artist
1184-1200 (Artuquid of Mardin)
59.801
On view
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