I

Pi

developments in the Late Antique and Early Christian

world. It was a world that suffered from devastating
invasions of nomadic peoples-called "barbarians" by
the Romans-on all of its borders and from severe
economic and social turmoil. The age-old worship of
the Greek gods was challenged by mystery religions
from Eastern provinces and was ultimately vanquished
by the triumph of Christianity.
It is our conviction that the study and appreciation
of the art of this complex period can best be understood in the context of these developments. This
exhibition is therefore divided into five realms: the
imperial, classical, secular, Jewish, and Christian. In all
the realms the objects reflect the needs of many diverse
patrons, ranging from the emperor in Constantinople
to a Jewish community on the Euphrates River.
Throughout the exhibition photographs of architecture,
sculpture, frescoes, and mosaics are included to
provide a more extensive picture of the artistic
achievements of these inventive centuries. The Age of
Spirituality, however, comes to fruition in the
Christian realm, when the patronage of the emperor
and bishop alike focused on the church. Images of
Christ's life and passion, portraits of saints, the
precious implements used in the liturgy, and mementoes of pilgrimages to holy sites reveal the pervasive
role of art both within and outside the church walls.
Christian art was used as a potent didactic medium,
and all methods of representation- narrative and
abbreviated scenes, and iconic art-were applied to
shape and explain religious ideas of the time.
The exuberant synthesis of uses of art and styles is
summed up in the Christian realm. However, it is the
underlying interdependence of all five contemporary
realms that will express the boundless faith and
increasing spirituality of imagery so characteristic of
the Late Antique and Early Christian centuries.

AGE OF
SPIRITUALITY
LateAntiqueand
EarlyChristianArt
3rd TO 7th CENTURY
The third through the seventh century A.D. was a
time of crisis and transition for the Mediterranean
world. During that period, one thousand years of the
classical world of Greece and Rome came to an end,
and the foundations of a new Christian world were
laid. "Age of Spirituality"-the
title of this
exhibition-is
a term used to describe the essence and
vitality of Late Antique and Early Christian art. The
exhibition begins with powerful portraits of several
important third-century Roman emperors and the first
appearance of Christian art; it ends with Christian art
in full flower, when its imagery dominated all sectors
of artistic production. The exhibition also charts the
evolution of the Late Antique world from its height in
the third century, when Rome still ruled from Egypt
to Britain, to its demise at the end of the seventh,
when the empire, having been split in two at the end
of the fourth century, survived as a political unit only
in the northeastern Mediterranean. This was the time
when the Early Middle Ages may be said to have
begun.
The purpose of this exhibition is twofold. The
objects assembled explore the survival of classical
literary traditions, popular games,
culture-through
images
and
of the Olympian gods and heroesthrough the sixth and even into the seventh century.
They also demonstrate the evolution toward a fully
developed Christian art, which, while based on
classical models, drew freely upon Eastern and Jewish
motifs to create a truly unique and new spiritualized
art form. Such momentous changes in art and
aesthetics were dependent on cultural and social

i
Credits

'R

Cover Diptych leaf of the Virgin enthroned. ivory, mid-6th century A. D., Berlin, Staatliche
Museen. Preussischer Kulturbesitz, FrUhchristlich-Byzantinische
Sammlung, J565
Text by Sandra Knudsen Morgan
Design by Marleen Adlerblum
Consultation by Joan K. Holt. Bulletin Department. Linda J. Lovell.
Education, Stephen Zwirn. Department of Medieval Art

Department

of Public

The bracketed

numbers in the text refer to the locations of the objects on the map. page 14

Copyright

1977The Metropolitan

Museum of Art

I. IMPERIAL

REALM

The Mediterranean Sea was like a Roman lake, a

unified political, geographical, economic, and cultural
entity. The mainstream of Roman culture was
Hellenistic culture, which developed out of the impact
and interaction of Greek ways of thinking on the
varied societies conquered by Alexander the Great in
the late fourth century B.C. The Romans adopted
Greek culture by equating Greek gods with their own
pantheon, following Greek models in their art and
literature, and applying methods of Greek science and
engineering. They carried this Graeco-Roman culture
from Britain to the Nile, from Spain to the Euphrates.
By the third century, economic unity had
disintegrated within the empire. The internal peace of
the first two centuries A.D. gave way to continual civil
wars and barbarian incursions. The army grew into a
dominant political force, and a huge bureaucracy
administered the increasingly complex government.
Rome became an empire of impoverished city
dwellers, tenant farmers, and wealthy landowners,

Detail of a statue of the emperor Trebonianus Gallus, bronze, AD

251-253. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund, 05.30

In the turbulent five centuries covered by this

exhibition, the rule of the Roman emperor dominated
life in the Mediterranean world. The roots of imperial
rule were established by Augustus (31 B.C.-A.D. 14) and
continued to function, at least in the eastern
Mediterranean, throughout the Middle Ages. The
portrait of the emperor, whether pagan or Christian,
and the monuments that commemorated the
ceremonial events he sponsored, such as official
processions and public performances, were everywhere
visible. The world he governed in the third century,
and that Justinian ruled in the sixth, comprised most
of the known world.
45

Medallion of Constantine 1, gold, struck at Siscia AD 325 or 326.

Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Washington, D. C., 49.4

and with the turmoil came a loss of confidence in

government. Some portraits of the third century, a
time of almost continuous civil strife, reveal anxious,
furrowed faces like that of the soldier-emperor
Trebonianus Gallus (A.D. 251-253) [I, 11.At the end of the

I. IMPERIAL

REALM

third century, however, strong leaders, beginning with

the emperor Diocletian (A.D. 285-305), imposed tight
autocratic control on the citizenry. The implacability of
the new regime was reflected in the highly stylized
imperial portraits seen in the first two galleries.
Diocletian's abdication in 305 led to the rise of
Constantine (A.D. 306-337), later revered as "Saint" or
"the Great. " In two far-reaching diplomatic decisions,
Constantine determined the religious and military
future of the empire: in 313 he championed
Christianity and sanctioned religious toleration with
the Edict of Milan, and in 324 he laid out the
boundaries of a new capital city on the shore of the
Bosporus at the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, to be
renamed Constantinople. Constantinople, also known
as the New Rome, became the seat of the "Byzantine"
Empire, which ruled the eastern Mediterranean and
endured as its cultural center until it fell to the
Moslem Turks in 1453.
The eternal empire was symbolized, in traditional
Roman fashion, on imperial coins. Roman emperors
had long used their coin issues for propaganda,
presenting the ruler on the obverse, and references to
great achievements of the day on the reverse.
Constantine and his successors christianized this
imagery. Following the artistic development toward
spiritualization, the portraits of Constantine and his
sons [I, 2] are less and less individualized. By the sixth
century, a cross or angel alone on a medallion of
Justinian sufficed to connote the triumph of Christian
rule over the world.
In the portraits of Constantine [I, 3], the animation
and realism of earlier Roman portraits (like
Trebonianus Gallus) gave way to spiritualization and
introspection. The portrait stresses his divine qualities
and denies his human frailty. The early sixth-century
empress Ariadne [I, 4], wife of Anastasius (A.D. 491-518),
is shown carved in ivory, stiffly posed in her robes of
state and bejeweled from head to foot. She has the
same remoteness as the life-sized marble portrait of
her displayed nearby.
A similar evolution of style characterized imperial
ceremonial art. Whereas the beautiful sardonyx
67

Portrait of the emperor Constantine I, marble, about A.D. 325. The

Metropolitan Museum of Art, Bequest of Mrs. F. F. Thompson,
26.229

carving called the Belgrade Cameo [I, 5] shows the

emperor still active in battle, on the Barberini Diptych
[1,6] the victory is symbolic, the defeated enemy
touching the victor's lance in submission. In the hunt,
symbolic of prowess in war, the emperor or aristocrat
is spectacularly successful. On state occasions, he or
the consuls, high officials of the empire, are depicted
on ivory diptychs (two plaques hinged together) [I,7]
presiding over the games and chariot races arranged
for the amusement of the urban populace. Gladiatorial
combats were made illegal in 405, but animal hunts,
chariot races, and other spectacles were staged on

I. IMPERIAL

REALM

it

( (ti:

r'U
',
---I.

-'I
; `C,

was the imperial audience hall, as in Trier [I, 111;such

halls are found throughout the empire, in the fortified
palace at Split 11,121,as well as the secluded, but
lavishly decorated villa near Piazza Armerina [1,131.
Even in death, the emperors' plans were grandiose;
large mausolea were built to testify to their worldly
glory.

Belgrade Cameo, sardonyx, about AD 325-350. National Museum,

Belgrade

Diptych panel with the empress Ariadne, ivory, about AD 500 52U.
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, X 39

holidays. The importance of these entertainments is

reflected in the variety of objects that commemorate
them, from consular diptychs in ivory to bronze, glass,
and terracotta objects. 11,81
City hippodromes, like one built in Rome [I, 91or
rebuilt in Constantinople 1I,101,were masterpieces for
handling crowds. Another major building type for
large groups, but limited to the most formal ceremony,
89

In 395 the empire was divided into East and West,

with separate emperors for administrative purposes.
During the fifth century, the Western empire slowly
disintegrated. Successive waves of barbarian peoples
sought to enter the empire, at first peacefully but
soon by force. The city of Rome itself was sacked in
410 and 455. In 476 the last Roman emperor of the
West, Romulus Augustulus, was removed from the
throne and replaced by the barbarian Rugian king
Odovacar. By that time not only Italy but Gaul, Spain,
and North Africa as well were in the hands of
barbarian conquerors.

II. CLASSICAL

REALM

that have survived. On a lanx, a ritual tray, and on a

situla, or ritual pail [II, 141,figures of the Olympian gods
and their retinues are elegantly and gracefully posed.
The images are strongly traditional, with a smooth,
decorative quality of their own.
On the huge silver plate [II, 151from the mid-fourthcentury Mildenhall Treasure in England a central mask
of Oceanus (the personification of Ocean), with
dolphins in his hair, is surrounded by a revelry of
drunken satyrs and maenads in honor of the wine god
Dionysos. On the two leaves of the ivory diptych [11,161

Detail of the Oceanus plate, silver, fourth century Au The British

Museum, London, 1946.10-7.1

The classical realm demonstrates the continuous

presence of the ancient gods and heroes in art and
literature throughout the entire period covered by tI
exhibition. Even after the emperor adopted
Christianity, the study of Greek and Latin poetry and
rhetoric continued until 529, at the academy of Athens.
Augustine and the Greek church fathers Basil, John
Chrysostom, and Gregory Nazianzus, infused Christian
theology with classical learning. Admiration for the
past kept the pagan philosophers and poets as well as
the gods alive in art and writing. Respect for the old
architectural forms was demonstrated in newly built
Christian churches, where lacy capitals and graceful
entablatures topped shafts of ancient columns.
A few of the great aristocratic families of the late
empire resisted the encroachment of the new religion.
Wealthy and cultivated, these families were great
patrons of the arts; but this influential minority was
unable to prevent the abolishment of public pagan
worship by the imperial decree of the emperor
Theodosius in 391. The aristocratic classical revivals
produced some of the finest works of Late Antique art

Diptych of the Nicomachi (left) and the Symmachi (right),

ivory, about AD 388-401. Muse de Cluny, Paris, Cl 17.048 (left) and
Victoria and Albert Museum, London. 212-1865 (right)

possibly made to celebrate a marriage between the

aristocratic families, the Nicomachi and the Symmachi,
a sacrifice to Dionysos, Zeus, and Cybele takes place
under the supervision of two elegant priestesses. The
exquisite carving and masterful representation of the
11

II. CLASSICAL REALM

figures recall the art of the past; but even these

deliberately classicizing works show elements of a new
abstraction, such as the shallow space or the priestess's
foot overlapping the border.
Images of the pagan gods thus survived long after
their public worship was banned. Knowledge of the
classical cults remained a mark of culture in the Early
Christian world, and clandestine worship of some of
these pagan deities survived after the triumph of
Christianity. The benevolent Mithras-who
slew the
from Persia, and the
world bull-introduced
compassionate Isis from Egypt [11,17]offered comfort in
this life and salvation in the next to initiates of their
mysteries. The ancient Olympian god Dionysos, deity
of wine and fertility, also offered a strongly emotional
ritual. Images of the god and his followers, satyrs and
maenads 111,18],
were fashioned as late as the sixth and
seventh centuries. The art of these cults often reveals
the popular, almost nive, style of the outlying
provinces of the empire, particularly in the East and in
Egypt. In contrast with more classicizing pieces, these
objects are flat, colorful, and ornamental.
The classical tradition of personifying cities, rivers,
and the seasons survives to this day in decorative art.
The muses and heroes like Herakles and Achilles
continued to be praised in Christian art and literature
as ideals of personal virtue and prowess to the end of
the Middle Ages and into the modern era.
The wealthy intelligentsia also cultivated literary
pursuits. Some of the greatest treasures of the fourth
through seventh century are lavishly illuminated
manuscripts. In the first to third century, the scroll
was gradually replaced by the flat-bound codex, the
form of book still used today. As much care as that
given a fresco or mosaic was lavished on the
illustration of its pages. The lively stories of the Iliad
and the Aeneid were favorite texts, but treatises on
astronomy like the Aratea 111,19],a verse compilation
of astronomical facts and mythological tales associated
with the constellations, were decorated with equal care
and inspiration, as were the plants painstakingly deThe texts and
picted in the herbal of Dioscurides 111,201.
illustrations were copied laboriously but copiously by
12

Andromeda,

folio 30v of the Aratea of Germanicus Claudius Caesar,

parchment, second quarter of the ninth century A.D. copy of a fourth
or fifth century manuscript. Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit, Leiden,
Voss. lat. qu. 79

hand. Copies circulated so widely, from Egypt to

Britain, that the same scene from a poem like the story
of Achilles might be used as the model for a sculpture
in Rome, a mosaic in Cyprus, a silver plate in Gaul, or
a textile in Egypt.
A third-century Tunisian mosaic of a poet and an
actor [11,211reflects a fascination with the works of
classical and Hellenistic playwrights. The seated poet
may be a portrait of the house-holder himself, since his
hair and beard are in the style of the third century and
he has individualized features. An extremely popular
branch of classical writing that exerted a particularly
strong impact on Christian art was bucolic poetry[II, 22J.
Happy country life suggested to the Christian what he
might expect in paradise.
13

MAP OF THE GALLERIES

III. SECULAR

F4O

37

39
33 38
35

32

it

36

77

EXIT

IV

REALM

[-TiFF
29

31

i
III

28

O
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Projecta's casket, silver and silver gilt, mid-fourth century A.D. The
British Museum, London, 66.12-29.1

27

IMPERIAL REALM
CLASSICAL REALM
SECULAR REALM
JEWISH REALM

23

V. CHRISTIAN REALM

26 21
24,'

17 16

II
20

19

18
14

II

15
7-

97
8

o(

4
11
2

12

c
31

Q-'

(second floor balcony)

14

The secular realm includes art produced for daily

for
use
people in every walk of life, and
representations of some of the most common
occupations. A relief [III, 231,for instance, portrays a
wine merchant in his shop, while a fragment of a gold
glass bowl [III, 24] represents a young couple's wedding,
as they hold hands over an altar and are exhorted to
"live in God. " Many of the objects included in this
section are rich and splendid, made to display the
wealth and taste of the owner. The great aristocratic
families imitated the life of the imperial court,
sometimes on a scarcely less lavish scale, with a
retinue of servants, clients, and tenant farmers who
made luxurious life possible. The waterfront villa of a
wealthy landowner is represented half naturalistically
and half symbolically on the central medallion of a
large silver dish [III, 25]. The buildings, surrounded by
a wall, face a lake or ocean bay teeming with marine
creatures, who are hunted by mythical Erotes, or
Cupids, in boats. Many great treasure hoards have
been found from this period, valuables hidden in times
of danger and never recovered by their owners. The
magnificent Esquiline Treasure, discovered in Rome in
1793, includes among its most spectacular pieces a
large silver-gilt casket [III, 26] made for the Christian
wedding of a woman named Projecta and L. Turcius
Secundus. The casket was probably meant to contain
15

III. SECULAR

REALM

Some personal possessions were apparently

imperial gifts to officials at coronations and special
court ceremonies. A heavy gold necklace [III, 281,
consisting of sixteen imperial coins and medallions of
different emperors of the late sixth and early seventh
centuries plus a massive central medallion of an

Detail of a bust of a lady of rank, marble, about A.D. 500-525. The

Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters Fund, 66.25

jewelry, combs, and toilet articles. It is decorated with

portraits of Projecta and her husband on the lid,
surrounded by traditional pagan Roman images of the
bride being led to her wedding, while Aphrodite,
goddess of love, adorns herself to attend the ceremony.
Below, Projecta sits in the central arcaded panel
preparing her toilet with the aid of her handmaidens.
Sculpted and painted portraits were among the
glories of Roman art of the Republican and early
imperial periods. Before the tradition came to an end
in the sixth century, this portrait of a lady of rank
[III, 27] was carved. The bust exemplifies the finest
qualities of Late Antique sculpture, with its delicately
rounded features, melancholy gaze, and highly
polished surfaces. The scroll in the lady's hand
signifies her learning. This late style of portraiture
concentrates typically on the intellectual or spiritual
essence of the subject and not her personality.
16

Detail of a pectoral, gold, early seventh century AD Staatliche

Museen, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Antikenabteilung, Berlin,
30219.506. Photo: Ingrid Geske

unidentifiable emperor, clearly had an imperial

function. Attached to this expression of loyalty to the
state is a large pendant medallion with two Christian
scenes-the Annunciation and the Marriage at Cana.
The close interrelationship between church and state is
evident.
17

IV. JEWISH REALM

frescoes of narrative sequences from several Old

Testament books, particularly the stories of Moses
from Exodus, David from the Books of Kings, the
prophet Ezekiel, and Esther. In the gallery is displayed
a photographic reconstruction of the frescoed walls on
a reduced scale [IV, 301. The local artists combined
traditional Graeco-Roman and Oriental dress and
gestures and showed a preference for strong simple
color, stiff frontal poses, and virtually no background
detail.
In some cities in the fifth and sixth centuries,
congregations ornamented their places of worship
lavishly with mosaic pavements. These included

Cup bottom with Ark of the Covenant, gold glass, first half of the
fourth century AD The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Rogers Fund,
18.145.1a,b

A Jewish realm is included in the exhibition

because of the importance of Judaic antecedents for the
Christian approach to history and art. The monotheism
of the Jewish people did not permit cult images of god,
and for centuries the Jews' refusal to worship Greek or
Roman cults caused them grief. The ill-fated revolt
under Vespasian (A.D. 69-79) led to the sack of
Jerusalem and the destruction of Solomon's great
temple. The temple is remembered in many later
Jewish art monuments throughout the empire.
Christianity began as an offshoot of Judaism and
owed much to the force of the Judaic moral code. The
new church, however, owed not only theological but
artistic debts to Judaism. While abhorring the Greek
tradition of cult images, Jewish artists did adopt the
Graeco-Roman custom of symbolic representations
IIV, 291and narrative illustration applied to their holy
stories. A small synagogue discovered in 1932 at
Dura-Europos, a frontier garrison town on the
Euphrates River, has walls covered with elaborate
18

WIA
Floor mosaic from the nave of a synagogue at Beit Shan
(photomontage), sixth century A.D. Photo: Israel Museum, Jerusalem

allegorical pagan images like Helios, the sun god,

surrounded by the symbols of the constellations and
representations of the Torah shrine, container of
the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible,
surrounded by seven-branched candlesticks, or
menorahs, incense shovels, and shofars, or ceremonial
rams' horns [IV, 311. These mosaics are as decorative as
colorful carpets, for which they served as durable
substitutes.
19

V. CHRISTIAN

j(
Li,, a, ir'till
,
Art, John L. Severance

REALM

d1l''Llt
Fund, 65.238

Ih'

Clrcrl;

uul MuSrUIn

In its first two difficult centuries of existence,

Christian art hardly existed at all. In the beginning,
Christians, because of initial hostility to
representational art, expressed their faith through
simple symbols as the fish, cross, dove, and anchor.
With time and imperial patronage, the early small
communities became large congregations. The
"Fathers of the Church, " like Basil, John Chrysostom,
Gregory Nazianzus in the East, and Jerome and
Augustine in the West began to formulate Christian
20

t)(

doctrine, and religious leaders and advisors like

Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea in Palestine during the
reign of Constantine, wrote history from the Christian
viewpoint. By the third century, with a growing body
of converts, didactic illustration became more and
more important. At the same time, funerary paintings
in the catacombs of Rome, with their abbreviated
representations like the Three Hebrews in the Fiery
Furnace, or the Raising of Lazarus emphasized themes
of salvation and life after death. In rare instances
three-dimensional sculpture survives, such as the series
from Asia Minor, of A.D. 250-275, devoted to the Good
Shepherd and the story of Jonah. The images of Jonah
swallowed by the sea monster and cast up again three
days later [V, 32[ were interpreted by Christian
theologians as prefiguring the death and resurrection
of Christ.
Christian imagery was deeply rooted in classical
art, both in style and in subject matter. The
iconography of Christ is a striking example: as the
shepherd of men, he probably is represented as a
lamb-bearer on a sarcophagus [V, 331; as a teacher, he is
surrounded, like a philosopher, by disciples on a goldglass bowl [V, 341; as the omnipotent deity, he sits like
the emperor on a jeweled throne on an ivory diptych
[V, 351.
One of the most magnificent survivals from the
seventh century is a series of nine silver plates, found
in 1902 in northern Cyprus, decorated with scenes of
the early life of King David [V, 361. The illustrations
are centered on David's single-handed defeat of the
Philistine champion Goliath, as represented on the
largest plate. Implied here is a commemoration of the
defeat of the Persians by the emperor Heraclius about
627. Heraclius had challenged and defeated the enemy
general Razatis in hand-to-hand combat and went on to
reconquer Jerusalem. Events in David's life are
represented according to a variety of antique models.
Fighting bear and lion as a shepherd boy, he is drawn
as Herakles; David's marriage to King Saul's daughter
Michal is depicted with full court ceremony. Dressed
as a Byzantine prince, David takes Michal's hand, with
Saul's blessing, under an arcade that suggests a palace.
21

V. CHRISTIAN

REALM

The Holy Scriptures were central to Christian lif(and thought, and by the third century, as suggested h%
the frescoes in the Christian baptistry of Dura, artists
embarked on cycles of illustration adapting the
principle of the illumination of the Greek and Latin
epics. Fragments of illuminated Old and New
Testament codices have survived the centuries to show
the minute detail with which the Scriptures could be
illustrated, like that lavished upon the numerous small
scenes on each page of the Ashburnham Pentateuch
and the rich gold lettering on purple vellum of the

Virgin enthroned,
sixth (rntury
AD The
wool texulr,
Cleveland
Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna, Jr. Bequest,

67.144

Marriage of David and Micbal, silver plate, about A.D. 628-630. Cyprus
Museum, Nicosia, J452

Codex Sinopensis [V, 371 which was an imperial

commission. Ivory plaques for caskets could also
narrate a series of scriptural events or single,
abbreviated representations of the symbolic
importance of a story.
22

In the fourth century, the development of a more

hieratic and spiritual approach began to transform
Christian as well as secular art. Iconic representations
were one of the major forms of the new style. Powerful and spiritually uplifting images of Christ, the
Virgin, and saints as well as those of Christian
emperors were created and venerated. They are por23

V. CHRISTIAN REALM

traits in the Roman tradition, but their spiritual

presence is more important than physical verisimili.
tude. Few painted panels, a most important medium
for iconic representations, have survived, but other
arts-mosaic, fresco, ivory, textile-also epitomize the
iconic concept transmitted through a conscious dematerialization and spiritualization of form. A large, wellpreserved textile from Egypt (V, 38] represents the
Virgin in Majesty. Mary and the Christ Child wear the
imperial purple and gold. They sit stiffly and rigidly
frontal on a throne flanked by angels, with the risen
Christ enthroned in a mandorla above. The forms are
geometric and abstracted, colors are flat, and all
elements of the design emphasize the spiritual and
didactic message of the Virgin as the Mother of God.
Christian life urged repudiation of the temptations
and duties of the world in order to perfect one's
spiritual life and prepare for the imminent Day of
Judgment. Moreover, thousands of men and women
sought to escape the claims of family, class, or state,
and to purify themselves by retreating into asceticism.
Others sought God alone in the wilderness, first in
solitude and later grouped into loosely formed
communities and finally in monasteries, where a
regulated life of work and prayer was established. A
few particularly charismatic saints collected followers
in their own lifetimes. In the wastelands of northern
Syria, Saint Symeon (died A.D. 459) attracted attention
by living thirty-seven years on top of a column,
refusing to be part of the corrupt life of the world
below. An enormous monastery was erected at Qa'lat
Sim'an around his column, and the curious and the
devout made pilgrimages to the site. Other pilgrims
went to venerate St. Peter in Rome, the place of his
martyrdom, or to the sites of Christ's ministry and
passion in the Holy Land. Large pilgrimage churches
like the Holy Sepulcher, the Martyrium, the Church on
the Mount of Olives, and other locations in Jerusalem
were built. Souvenirs were sold at the sites; most
popular were the lead and terracotta flasks (V, 391
decorated with the scenes of a shrine that were usually
filled with oil taken from the shrine's lamps.
As Christianity became the religion of an empire,
24

Reliquary for a fragment of the True Cross, silver gilt, enamel and
niello, late seventh-early eighth century A.D.. The Metropolitan
Museum of Art, Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 17.190.715

its ceremony became more elaborate. Instead of the

simple sharing of bread and wine in a private house
that had been the communion of early Christians, the
Christian community now had elaborate churches in
which to celebrate the liturgy or the mass. For these
celebrations huge, complex buildings were required,
the most notable of which are the basilica of St.
Peter commissioned by Constantine after 313 and the
magnificent domed structure of Hagia Sophia ("Holy
25

TIME LINE

Wisdom"), re-dedicated by Justinian in 537. The

photographs show the diversity in plan used for
churches during this period. Variants depended on
many factors, such as local architectural traditions,
different liturgical customs, as well as patronageimperial, episcopal, monastic. The rededication of
existing buildings was also a significant factor in
establishing important types of plans which continued
to be influential throughout the Middle Ages. Mosaics
and frescoes decorated walls, ceilings, and floors. The
apse, the focal point of the church where the altar
stood, was richly decorated with images symbolic of
Christ as savior and ruler of the world, and in
symbolic form, of the Last Judgment.
During the liturgy, dozens of priests and deacons
led the congregation in preparing and administering
the Eucharist, the sacrificial bread and wine
symbolizing Christ's body and blood. Splendid vessels
and ornaments were created for the service. The altar
replica in the last gallery displays some of the
implements that were used-chalices for the wine,
patens for the bread, book covers for the Gospels,
flabella, or fans, to keep the flies away, candlesticks,
spoons and vases for various usage. In places of special
reliquaries
veneration-usually
under the altar-were
containing remains of Christian saints and martyrs.
The silver-gilt and enamel reliquary [V, 401was made
to hold a fragment of the True Cross. Its luminous
colors and flat pattern emphasize the otherworldliness
of the scene. Christ is represented alive on the cross,
the conqueror of death. He is mourned by the Virgin
and John and surrounded by portraits of saints and
martyrs, many of whom lived and died in the Holy
Land, where the reliquary was probably made.
The Age of Spirituality ends here with a new
beginning. The Christian Byzantine world arose out of
the old classical world. The cultural, political, and
artistic roots can be traced back to the time of the
emperor Constantine and even earlier. The Early
Christian world, in both Eastern and Western Europe,
owed a tremendous debt to the classical heritage-a
heritage passed in turn to the Middle Ages, the
Renaissance, and the modern world.
26

A. D.
248

1000th Anniversary

of Rome

303-305 The last Christian persecutions under

Diocletian
306-337 Constantine, emperor
312

Constantine defeats Maxentius at the Battle

of the Milvian Bridge

313

Edict of Milan sanctions religious tolerance

First ecumenical church council at Nicaea

325

City of Constantinople dedicated

300-350 Beginnings of monasticism in Egypt
330

361-363 Julian the Apostate revives classical cults

391
395

Imperial edict prohibits worship of pagan gods

Empire divided into East and West

404

St. Peter's basilica in Rome completed

Ravenna becomes capital of the Western
Empire

410

Rome sacked by the Visigoths under Alaric

455

Rome sacked by the Vandals under Gaiseric

476

Abdication of Romulus Augustulus and the

end of the Roman Empire in the West

ca.400

520

First Benedictine monastery founded

527-565 Justinian I, emperor
532-537

Church of Hagia
Constantinople

610-641

Heraclius,

Sophia

rebuilt

in

emperor

614

Jerusalem captured by the Persians

632

Death of Mohammed, founder of Islam

Constantinople beseiged by Moslems for the
first time

673

This brochure
Humanities.

from the National

was made possible by a grant

Endowment

for the

for the
The exhibition has been made possible by a grant from the National Endowment
Humanities, a matching grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and a grant from
Under the Arts and Artifacts Indemnity Act,
the Robert Wood Johnson Jr. Charitable Trust.
indemnity was granted by the Federal Council on the Arts and the Humanities.

NOVEMBER

19,1977- FEBRUARY

12,1978

AGE OF SPIRITUALITY
LateAntiqueand
EarlyChristianArt
3rdTO 7th CENTURY
THE METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART
Fifth Avenue and 82nd Street/New
Telephone (General Information)
(Offices) 879.5500

York, New York 10028

535.7710

Hours: Tuesdays 10:00-8:45, Wednesday through Saturday 10:00-4:45,

Sundays and holidays, 11:00-4:45. Closed Mondays and November
24, December 25 and January 1.
Admission charges: There is a suggested $2.00 admission policy; give
what you can but you must contribute something. No additional
charge for special exhibitions. Members and senior citizens, and
New York City school groups admitted free. Fee to school
groups outside New York City, $5.00.
Group visits to the special exhibition: A limited number of
elementary and high school groups will be admitted Tuesday
through Friday, by appointment only. Reservations should be made
well in advance. Please call the Appointments office, junior
Museum, ext. 308. Adults may view the exhibition individually; no
group appointments may be made.
Access to the Museum for visitors in wheelchairs: There is a ramp
entrance to the Museum at 81st Street. Wheelchairs are available
at the 81st Street entrance, but it is advisable to call ext. 201 to
reserve a wheelchair.
Films and lectures will be scheduled in the Grace Rainey Rogers
Auditorium during the exhibition. A list of films and lectures
relating to the exhibition is available at the Information Desk or by
telephone request to the Department of Public Education, ext. 307.
A recorded tour prepared by the Department of Medieval Art is
available to the museum visitor at a rental fee of $1.50. The Audioguide is offered at a discount to members and for groups of six or
more. Please call the Audioguide Desk, ext. 672 for information
and reservations.
Special publications: A fully illustrated catalogue of the exhibition,
with additional photographic material and essays, edited by
Professor Kurt Weitzmann, principal organizer of the exhibition,
will be forthcoming. Catalogue orders may be placed with the
Museum Bookshop. A picture book on the exhibition may be
purchased for $2.95. A SoundSlide kit on the exhibition, with 40
color slides and text, is available for purchase ($14.95).
No photography

is permitted

in the exhibition.

Slides of a broad coverage of objects in the exhibition

for rental from the Slide Library, ext. 261.
Nominal rental fees are charged.

are available