Cleveland Museum of Art

Phylactery (Reliquary Penant)

Date

c. 500–700

Medium

copper alloy

Culture

Byzantium, Egypt or Syria, early Byzantine period, 6th-8th centuries

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Made in the 500s, this Byzantine phylactery, or personal reliquary, was meant to be worn around the neck on a chain. It is fashioned of bronze and still contains its original linen-wrapped relic. This was gifted to the museum in memory of Robert P. Bergman, former director of the museum and medievalist.

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