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Relief Image of Jesus Christ
(Byzantium and Early Russia)
This relief was once part of a larger object, probably a decorated metal sheet that covered a painted icon for protection and embellishment. Christ, holding a Gospel book in one hand and making the sign of blessing with the other, would originally have faced a portrait of the object's donor. The Greek inscriptions, "Jesus Christ" and "Who I Am" (in the halo, Exodus 3:14), show that Byzantine influence continued in Georgia well after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. The ornamental background is inspired by Islamic art: at the time the piece was made, Georgia was politically dependent on Persia (Iran) and Ottoman Turkey.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Jacques Zolotnitsky ("A la Vieille Russie"), Paris, before 1930, by purchase; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1931, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 10/30/1959 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
Georgia (Place of Origin)
Measurements
4 1/8 x 2 1/16 in. (10.5 x 5.3 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1931
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Byzantine, Russian, and Ethiopian Icons
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.653