Preview
Creation Date
10th–12th centuries
Geography
Eastern Mediterranean
Culture
Byzantine
Medium
Metal
Dimensions
4 5/8 x 3 1/2 in.
Credit Line
Bequest of David P. Harris ('46), 2020
Accession Number
2020.121
Provenance
Purchased by David P. Harris from Julia Schottlander (Tetragon) in London on October 23, 1999.
Condition
A small piece in the upper-right corner has become detached.
Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings
ΠΡ[Ε]CBV[T]EPOC
ΜΡ ΘΥ
References
Brad Hostetler, with Ani Parnagian, "From Private to Public: The Collection of David P. Harris," in Ethiopian Objects in the Blick-Harris Study Collection: Art, Context, and the Persistence of Form, eds. Brad Hostetler, and Lynn Jones, Peregrinations: Journal of Medieval Art & Architecture 8, no. 1 (Spring 2022): 5–25. https://digital.kenyon.edu/perejournal/vol8/iss1/1/
Description
"The thin bronze strip contains a crude orans figure of the Virgin with the usual Greek abbreviated identification, and at the far right of the fragment are the etched letters ΠΡ[Ε]CBV[T]EPOC, written crosswise, suggesting that this was originally accompanied by a priest's name. The rest of the fragment is decorated with 'tendrils' and punched dots. The originally complete piece was most probably nailed to a large object—perhaps a box or article of furniture—as ornamentation." Description by David P. Harris.