Hanging with Christian Images
Unknown Artist
500s
Medium
dyed wool, undyed linen: plain weave (tabby) with inwoven tapestry weave
Dimensions
110.5 × 76.8 cm · mounted: 120.9 × 87 × 3.9 cm
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1982.73
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This rare surviving hanging with Christian symbols likely served as a wall decoration in a church or a home. The three men who stand beneath an arch may represent the three Hebrews who refused to worship a golden idol, and when cast into the fiery furnace, remained unharmed due to God’s deliverance (Daniel 3:19–30). Above them is a Christogram formed by the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek, X (chi) and P (rho), flanked by the letters for alpha and omega. Beneath the arch, an ankh, an ...