COLLECTION NAME:
The AMICA Library
Record
AMICA ID:
MMA_.1979.217
AMICA Library Year:
2002
Object Type:
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Description:
The icon carries a Greek inscription identifying Christ as Antiphonetes, "the guarantor." A famous icon of Christ was so named because, according to a miracle story, it had been held as loan collateral by a creditor. The Byzantine empress Zoë (r. 1028?50) had coins struck with the Antiphonetes image and kept an icon of the type close at hand. "I myself have often seen her, in moments of great distress, clasp the sacred object in her hands, contemplate it, talk to it as if it were indeed alive, and address it with one sweet term of endearment after another," wrote court historian Michael Psellos (1018?ca. 1081).
Creator Nationality:
Asian; Anatolian; Byzantine
Creator Dates/Places:
Probably made in Greece
Creator Name-CRT:
Byzantine
Title:
Icon with Christ Antiphonetes
View:
Principal view
Creation Date:
ca. 1350 or later
Creation Start Date:
1340
Creation End Date:
1360
Materials and Techniques:
Steatite
Dimensions:
2 5/8 x 2 1/8 x 3/4 in. (6.7 x 5.4 x 1.9 cm)
AMICA Contributor:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location:
New York, New York
ID Number:
1979.217
Credit Line:
Rogers Fund, 1979
Copyright:
Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.
Related Image Identifier Link:
MMA_.h1_1979.217.tif
