Cleveland Museum of Art

Pendant Icon with the Virgin "Dexiokratousa" and Frame with Winged Bull of Saint Luke on the back

Date

pendant 1100s; frame mid-1300s

Medium

steatite, gilt silver, pearls

Culture

Byzantium (pendant); Germany, Aachen (frame), Byzantine period, 12th century (pendant); Byzantine period, 14th century (frame)

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This small-scale Byzantine icon depicts a half-length figure of the Virgin holding the Christ child. When the icon was mounted in its present frame by a German artist in the 14th century, it was considered to be an authentic portrait painted by Saint Luke. This claim, made in an inscription on the frame, is further emphasized by the ox, Saint Luke’s symbol, engraved on the frame’s reverse.

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.