Relief Fragment
Unknown Artist
6th–7th century
Medium
Ivory
Dimensions
Overall: 9/16 x 1/16 x 2 1/16 in. (1.4 x 0.2 x 5.3 cm) with 17.190.84-5, .89: 9/16 x 7 13/16 x 1/16 in. (1.4 x 19.9 x 0.2 cm)
Classification
Ivories
Culture
Coptic
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.89
Art Historical Context
This delicate **Relief Fragment**, carved from ivory in 6th–7th century Cop Egypt, offers a glimpse into the vibrant of early Christian art. to the Medieval Art department at the Metropolitan Museum of Artthanks to a 1917 gift from J. Pier Morgan—this tiny piece (just 9/16 x 1/16 x 2 1/16 inches) is part of a larger reconstructed object, highlighting the precision of ancient craftsmanship. Ivory, a luxurious and portable medium prized in the Byzantine-influenced Coptic world, allowed artisans to create intricate reliefs for religious items like book covers, caskets, or liturgical objects. Cop...