Byzantine
Byzantine
<p>Spanning from the fourth through the mid-15th century CE, the Byzantine Empire, also known as Byzantium, was the continuation of the eastern half of the Roman Empire. Its first ruler, <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/96052/solidus-coin-portraying-emperor-constantine-i" target="_blank">Constantine</a> I (reigned 306–337 CE), moved the imperial capital from Rome to the eastern frontier city of Byzantium (present-day Istanbul), renaming it Constantinople in 330 CE. As the western Roman Empire diminished and ultimately fell in 476 CE, the eastern empire grew and flourished, embracing Christianity as the official imperial religion and Greek rather than Latin as the official administrative language. At its peak, Byzantium covered parts of Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa, extending its cultural and artistic traditions into these regions while also being influenced by them.&nbsp;</p><p>Byzantine art is characterized by a shift away from the naturalism and idealized forms associated with earlier Greek and Roman art toward more stylized, abstract forms, with an overall tendency toward flatness. Artists worked primarily in two-dimensional media, creating mosaics, icons, and wall paintings. The majority of Byzantine art depicts Christian subjects, enhancing the expression of spirituality and otherworldliness of church theology through an abstract aesthetic. Secular objects sometimes incorporated classical subjects and motifs alongside Christian iconography.</p><p>The Art Institute’s collection of Byzantine art includes works that are diverse in form, function, and media, which were created for both sacred and secular contexts. The museum holds numerous <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/142685/solidus-coin-of-theophilus" target="_blank">imperial coins</a> in <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/221685/solidus-coin-of-empress-irene" target="_blank">gold</a> and bronze, whose imagery connects earthly rulers to the divine. Christian imagery is also found on objects used in private devotional practices, including <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/140868/amulet-of-a-cross" target="_blank">amulets</a> and <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/62091/pilgrimage-jug-with-christian-symbols" target="_blank">jugs</a> intended for storing holy oil or water. The museum’s collection also includes secular objects used in the home such as <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/54544/bottle" target="_blank">bottles</a>, <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/54592/bowl" target="_blank">bowls</a>, <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/54528/pitcher" target="_blank">pitchers</a>, <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/54526/jug" target="_blank">jugs</a>, and <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/65592/goblet" target="_blank">goblets</a> produced in colorful glass; numerous fragments of <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/92537/fragment-from-the-base-of-a-bowl" target="_blank">terracotta vessels</a> embellished with geometric motifs; and part of the rim of a large <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/4702/table-rim-fragments" target="_blank">marble table</a> likely used in elaborate banquets. Architectural decorations include large-scale <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/126436/mosaic-fragment-with-man-leading-a-giraffe" target="_blank">mosaic panels</a> and a wooden <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/86646/architectural-fragment-with-relief-carving" target="_blank">bas-relief</a>, reflecting the popularity of images of domesticated and wild animals in the Byzantine period. Objects associated with personal adornment include glass <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/67421/jar" target="_blank">containers</a> created for storing <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/65584/kohl-container" target="_blank">cosmetics</a> and <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/65681/necklace" target="_blank">jewelry</a>. The museum’s holdings in Byzantine art are rounded out with a number of textiles from Byzantine Egypt, which appear to have been made primarily for secular use, either as ornaments on <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/93586/fragment-tunic-yoke" target="_blank">garments</a> or as household <a href="https://www.artic.edu/artworks/99602/fragment-hanging" target="_blank">furnishings</a>.</p>
Byzantine; Eastern Mediterranean Byzantine; Thessaloniki, Greece Byzantine; minted in Constantinople (now Istanbul) Byzantine
Greece, Cyprus Byzantine
Asia Minor, Constantinople Byzantine, minted in Constantinople Post-Byzantine
Greece, Athens Byzantine
Egypt, possibly Antinopolis Byzantine
Greece, Thessaloniki Byzantine, minted in Ravenna, Italy Byzantine Byzantine; Constantinople or vicinity Byzantine; Syria or Lebanon Byzantine or Islamic (Ottoman)
Asia Minor, probably Miletus or Iznik Late Roman or Byzantine; Eastern Mediterranean Byzantine; Syria or Egypt Byzantine
Greece, Corinth or Sparta, or Cyprus Byzantine
Asia Minor, Constantinople or Greece, Thessaloniki Byzantine; probably Eastern Mediterranean Byzantine; Jerusalem Late Roman or early Byzantine; coast of Syria or Palestine Byzantine
Greece, Corinth or Asia Minor, Constantinople Late Roman or early Byzantine Post-Byzantine or Islamic (Ottoman)
Northern Italy or Eastern Mediterranean Byzantine; Levant or Syria Byzantine; Eastern Mediterranean, probably Syria Byzantine
Greece, Serres or Cyprus Post-Byzantine
Northern Italy, Greece, or Cyprus Byzantine, western Greece Byzantine, Asia Minor Byzantine, minted in Alexandria Byzantine
Greece, Corinth Byzantine; Serres, Greece Byzantine or Italian
Italy, Campania or Apulia Egyptian Byzantine or Islamic Byzantine; Constantinople or vicinity, or Cyprus