On view
Ancient Mediterranean Art
Pendant with Saint Thekla between lions,
5th–6th century
Early Byzantine
y1968-136
Early Christian imagery conveyed the emerging religious doctrine and narratives centered on the life and teachings of Christ and his followers. Depictions of holy figures, Christ’s crucifixion and the cross, the Chi-Rho Christogram, and the alpha and omega adorned the surfaces of churches, liturgical objects, and jewelry—all tangible signs of devotion. As Byzantine theologians promoted touch, sight, and proximity to sacred objects within the context of a religious system that was largely abstract and invisible, objects designed to heighten multisensorial experiences, like censers filled with aromatic incense or oil lamps and candles that gave off flickering light, became critical to the creation of a liturgical setting. Workshops emerged across the Mediterranean to produce Byzantine objects with lavish materials like metals and gems in order to express the emerging theology of the empire.
More About This Object
Information
Title
Pendant with Saint Thekla between lions
Dates
5th–6th century
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
h. (with suspension loop) 2.6 cm, w. 1.7 cm (1 x 5/8 in.)
pendant: h. 1.9 (3/4) x d. 0.01 cm
Credit Line
Museum purchase, Caroline G. Mather Fund
Object Number
y1968-136
Place Made
Turkey, Constantinople
Period
Materials
Subject
Museum purchased from Mathias Komor, New York in 1968.
- Alfreda J. Murck, "Acquisitions 1968", Record of the Art Museum, Princeton University 27, no. 2 (1968): p. 94-105., p. 105
- Claudia Nauerth, "Nachlese von Thekla-Darstellungen", in Guntram Koch, ed., Studien zur frühchristlichen Kunst, (Wiesbaden: O. Harrassowitz, 1982-)., pp. 14-18. Enarged illustration on pl. VI
- Slobodan Curcic and Archer St. Clair, Byzantium at Princeton: Byzantine art and archaeology at Princeton University: catalogue of an exhibition at Firestone Library, Princeton University, August 1 through October 26, 1986, (Princeton, NJ: Dept. of Art and Archaeology, Princeton University, The Art Museum, Princeton University, Princeton University Library, Dept. of Rare Books and Special Collections, 1986)., cat. no. 146; p. 119
- David J. Goa, Linda Distad and Matthew Wangler, Anno Domini: Jesus through the Centuries, (Edmonton: Provincial Museum of Alberta, 2000),
- Ioli Kalavrezou, Angeliki E. Laiou, et al., Byzantine women and their world, (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Art Museums; New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2003)., p. 86-87; cat. no. 28
- A. Lazaridou, ed., Transition to Christianity: art of late antiquity, 3rd-7th century AD, (New York: Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit Foundation; Athens: In collaboration with the Byzantine and Christian Museum, 2011)., p. 131; cat. no. 91
