Cleveland Museum of Art
Fish Gem
- Date
- c. 250–350 CE
- Medium
- rock crystal
- Culture
- Syria(?) or Anatolia, early Christian
- Department
- Medieval Art
- Institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
To avoid punishment, early Christians practiced their faith in secret. Images of fish were part of a code developed to refer to Jesus Christ. To those in the know, the Greek word for fish (ICHTHYS), was an acronym for the phrase Iesous Christos Theou Yios Soter which translates as Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.
The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.
Related across collections
Semantically similar works from Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions.
Tobias Catches the Fish, From the Story of Tobit, Plate 5
Minneapolis Institute of Art
The Miraculous Draught of Fishes
Getty Museum
Jesus Calling the Apostles Among the Fishermen
Harvard Art Museums
Votive Fish
Getty Museum
Monogram of Christ (Chrismon)
Cleveland Museum of Art
Border with the Adoration of the Name of Jesus
Getty Museum
Saint Christopher Carrying the Christ Child
Getty Museum
Faith (from the Tarocchi, series B: Cosmic Principles & Virtues, #40)
Cleveland Museum of Art
St. Joseph and the Christ Child
Minneapolis Institute of Art
The Miraculous Draught of Fishes
Getty Museum
Engraved Gem
Getty Museum
The Christ Child Surrounded by the Instruments of the Passion
Getty Museum