Plaque with Agnus Dei on a Cross between Emblems of the Four Evangelists
Date: 1000–1050 Geography: Possibly made in Benevento Culture: South Italian Medium: Elephant ivory Dimensions:H 23.5 x W 13.7 x D 0.9 cm
Description: Represented here by their characteristic attributes are the four evangelists surrounding the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei), as derived from the vision of John in the Book of Revelation (4:6–7): an angel (Matthew), a winged lion (Mark), a winged ox (Luke), and an eagle (John). Originally this plaque would have covered a deluxe binding of a now-lost Gospel book. The stylization of the symbols and the type of interlaced foliate cross find parallels in manuscript illumination produced within the southern Italian region of Benevento, including at the famed Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino.
Plaque with Agnus Dei on a Cross between Emblems of the Four Evangelists
Date: 1000–1050
Geography: Possibly made in Benevento
Culture: South Italian
Medium: Elephant ivory
Dimensions: H 23.5 x W 13.7 x D 0.9 cm
Description:
Represented here by their characteristic attributes are the four evangelists surrounding the Lamb of God (Agnus Dei), as derived from the vision of John in the Book of Revelation (4:6–7): an angel (Matthew), a winged lion (Mark), a winged ox (Luke), and an eagle (John). Originally this plaque would have covered a deluxe binding of a now-lost Gospel book. The stylization of the symbols and the type of interlaced foliate cross find parallels in manuscript illumination produced within the southern Italian region of Benevento, including at the famed Benedictine monastery of Monte Cassino.
Credit: The Metropolitan Museum of Art