The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Altar Front

Altar Front

c. 540–600
marble
Overall: 101 x 169.5 x 25.5 cm (39 3/4 x 66 3/4 x 10 1/16 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1948.25
Location: 105 Byzantine

Did You Know?

This marble altar was likely in a Byzantine church that was opulently decorated with mosaics, rich textiles, and gilded lamps. Worshipers would have witnessed the rituals of faith that occurred at the altar, enshrined behind a barrier called a templon, and accessible only to the clergy.

Description

This carved marble panel resembles the front of an Early Byzantine sarcophagus, or coffin. While its decoration is typical of those produced in the Italian city of Ravenna during the 500s, its size is considerably smaller, indicating that the panel may instead have been made as an altar front. It is likely that the small window between the center columns with its opened curtains once allowed the faithful to contemplate a precious reliquary placed inside. The decorative repertoire of the panel includes both architectural forms--arches, pediments, and columns--and a number of symbols commonly found in Early Christian art including scallop shells, lambs, palms, and crosses that represent the concepts of life, the sacrifice of Christ, victory over death, and eternal life.
  • Originally from S. Carlino (formerly S. Fabiano and S. Sebastiano), Ravenna
    Villa Lovatelli near Ravenna
    Villa Landau near Florence, Finaly Collection
    ?-1948
    (Adolph Loewi, Los Angeles), sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1948-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Miner, Dorothy Eugenia. Studies in Art and Literature for Belle Da Costa Greene. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1954. pp 132-142
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 83 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 37 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 37 archive.org
    Brandenburg, Hugo. "Ein frühchristliches Relief in Berlin: Taf. 66-80". Mitteilungen des deutschen archaeologischen Instituts roemische Abteilung, Band 79 (1972) pp. 126-128, plate 79
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 38 archive.org
    Klein, Holger. "Himmlische Schatze: Eine internationale Ausstellung in den USA und Großbritanien widmet sich der Geschichte christlicher Reliquien und Reliquiare von der Spätantike bis zur frühen Neuzeit" Das Münster 63 (2010)
    Bagnoli, Martina. Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics, and Devotion in Medieval Europe. [Cleveland, Ohio]: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2010. No. 17, pp. 17-18
    Markiewicz, Philippe. "Reliques et Reliquaires: Une Approche Chretienne du Sacre" Arts Sacrés No. 13, (Sept/Oct 2011) pp. 48-53
    Fliegel, Stephen N., and Stephen N. Fliegel. A Higher Contemplation: Sacred Meaning in the Christian Art of the Middle Ages. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2012. p. 19
    Jäggi, Carola. Ravenna: Kunst und Kultur einer spätantiken Residenzstadt : die Bauten und Mosaiken des 5. und 6. Jahrhunderts. 2013.
    Pentcheva, Bissera V. Hagia Sophia: Sound, Space, and Spirit in Byzantium. University Park: PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2017. Reproduced: p. 53, fig. 23; p. 54, fig . 24
    Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 6-9; Reproduced: p. 7
  • Treasures of Heaven: Saints, Relics and Devotion in Medieval Europe. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 17, 2010-January 17, 2011); The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, MD (February 13-May 15, 2011); The British Museum, London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (June 23-October 9, 2011).
  • {{cite web|title=Altar Front|url=false|author=|year=c. 540–600|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1948.25