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Medieval Art
All artworks
Period
Byzantine
Date
late 900s
Collection
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Object no.
464013

Icon with the Koimesis

Unknown Byzantine ivory carver, probably Constantinople, late 900s

Ivory panel showing the Virgin lying on a bier surrounded by apostles, with Christ standing behind holding her soul as a small swaddled figure

The Metropolitan Museum of Art · Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917 · Public domain

The record

Maker
Unknown Byzantine ivory carver, probably Constantinople
Date
late 900s
Medium
Elephant ivory
Dimensions
18.6 × 14.8 × 1.1 cm
Period
Byzantine

Why it matters

The Koimesis, or Dormition, shows the Virgin lying on her bier while Christ lifts her soul, represented as a swaddled infant, towards attendant angels. The apostles, led by Peter and Paul, gather as witnesses. Small enough to be held, the panel was probably made for private devotion, and its confident carving belongs to the tenth-century revival of ivory work in Constantinople.

The Met collection record