Saint Arethas

Description Saint Arethas was an Ethiopian soldier who was murdered in 523 because of his Christian faith. He is depicted here in Byzantine court dress, holding a cross as a sign of his martyrdom. The tile is one among three in the Walters Art Museum that have the same size and contain identical busts of male saints: the other two show Saint Basil (inv. 48.2086.17) and Saint Panteleimon (inv. 48.2086.4). This series probably formed a frieze on a church wall or altar screen.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
2/13/1964	Treatment	loss compensation; re-housed; stabilized

Exhibitions

• The Glory of Byzantium. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. 1997.
• Byzantium, 330-1453. Royal Academy of Arts, London. 2008.

Provenance Nikos Avgheris, Istanbul, ca. 1950, by purchase; Robert E. Hecht, Ruxton, Maryland, 1956, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1956, by purchase.

Credit Partial museum purchase with funds provided by the S. & A.P. Fund, 1956 and partial gift of Mr. Robert E. Hecht, Jr., 1957