Collection record · Dress & textiles
Icon of the Virgin and Child
The collection record classifies this work as textile. It is dated 500s CE. Recorded culture or place: Egypt, Byzantine period.
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A closer look at the details.
- Museum title
- Icon of the Virgin and Child
- Date
- 500s CE
- Culture / origin
- Egypt, Byzantine period
- Materials and technique
- wool and dye
- Dimensions
- Overall: 178.7 x 110.5 cm (70 3/8 x 43 1/2 in.); Mounted: 197.4 x 128.2 x 6.4 cm (77 11/16 x 50 1/2 x 2 1/2 in.)
- Artist / maker
- Not specified by the museum
- Museum
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Accession number
- 1967.144
FROM THE MUSEUM
In the museum’s words
The following description is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art’s original English record.
Woven from more than 20 colors of woolen thread, this rare tapestry was more expensive than a painting when it was made. The historical price reflected contemporary viewers’ appreciation for the skilled color blending by the weavers. Hung on a wall, this tapestry allowed viewers to venerate (honor) the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child in the Christian Orthodox church. Angels and apostles surround them, their names written in Greek. To be spiritually effective, an icon (devotional image) should follow its subject’s established visual tradition as closely as possible.
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Text and image sources
The Cleveland Museum of Art · Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund · CC0
The summary is based on public collection data. Refer to the museum’s latest record for the title, date and attribution.
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