Byzantine Women and Their World

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18191

This book explores the representation of women in the Byzantine Empire. Featuring nearly two hundred works of art, the volume illustrates how women in Byzantium were represented in both material and literary culture and explores the continuities and changes in their lives throughout the era.

The featured artworks—gathered from premier collections in North America—date from the fourth through the fifteenth century and represent a full range of media and subject matter. They include luxury objects such as ivories, silver vessels, and precious jewelry; utilitarian objects such as toiletries and weaving tools; official objects such as coins and seals; and ritual objects such as icons and amulets. Organized in two broad categories—women in the public sphere and women in the private sphere—these works of art and objects of everyday life illustrate the diverse roles of women in Byzantine society and offer a view of their personal and public lives. Introductory essays by leading Byzantinists Ioli Kalavrezou and Angeliki Laiou offer further insights into these themes.

*This eBook is available exclusively on the A&AePortal*

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Print publication date March 2003 (out of print)

Print ISBN 9780300096989

EISBN 9780300247961

Illustrations 216

Print Status out of print

Publisher (out of print)

WorldCat

Google Books

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List of illustrations

The Virgin Mary cared for by her parents; Homilies of James Kokkinobaphos, fol. 46v
The Presentation of the Virgin in the Temple
Pendant with Aphrodite arranging her hair
Women picking grapes and harvesting grain; Octateuch, fol. 203r
Icon of the Annunciation
The personification of Ktisis (Foundation); mosaic floor fragment
Personifications of Nike (Victory) and the Tyche (Fortune) of the city of Nikomedeia surround the winning charioteer, Porphyrios; base of a stele from the Hippodrome of Constantinople
Crowds venerate figures of Aphrodite, above, and Artemis, below; Homilies of Gregory the Theologian; fol. 164r
Statuette of a City Tyche
Follis with Bust of Roma, mint of Trier
Follis with Bust of Constantinopolis, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of Constantius II with Roma and Constantinopolis, mint of Arles
Solidus of Valentinian II with Seated Constantinopolis, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of Theodosios II with Seated Constantinopolis, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of Pulcheria with Seated Constantinopolis from mint of Constantinople
Ring with Seated Helmeted Figure (Constantinopolis?) on Bezel
Solidus Weight with Moneta
Empress Bust Weight, Steelyard, and Collar with Chains (with detail)
Empress Bust Weight and Hook
Empress Bust Weight
Empress Bust Weight
Athena Bust Weight
Weight with Imperial Busts and Local Official, Egypt
Follis of the Empress Helena with Securitas, mint of Antioch
Follis of the Empress Fausta with Spes, mint of Ticinum
Solidus of Constantine VI, mint of Constantinople
Follis of Constantine VI, mint of Constantinople
Histamenon of the Empress Theodora, mint of Constantinople
Miliaresion with the Empress Maria, mint of Constantinople
Seal of the Patriarch Athanasios with Enthroned Virgin, Constantinople
Seal of the Metropolitan Constantine with Hosia Theodora, Mytilene (Lesbos)
The Widow Danielis Being Carried on a Litter
The Empress Theodora Venerates an Icon in Her Rooms at the Palace
Portrait Head, Perhaps of Fausta or Helena, Rome?
Head of a Roman Girl
Portrait Head in the Type of Flacilla, Constantinople?
Head of a Female Figure, Possibly an Empress
Head of a Female Figure, Possibly an Empress, rear view
Statuette of an Imperial Woman, northern Syria?
Solidus of the Augusta Eudoxia, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of the Augusta Pulcheria, mint of Constantinople
Coin of the Augusta Galla Placidia, mint of Ravenna
Tremissis of the Augusta Eudokia, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of the Augusta Aelia Verina, mint of Constantinople
Follis of Justin II and Sophia, mint of Constantinople
Solidus with Theophilos, Theodora, and Daughters, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of Theodora as Renent, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of Theodora and Michael III, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of Basil I with Eudokia Ingerina, mint of Constantinople
Solidus of Zoe Karbounopsina as Regent, mint of Constantinople
Tetarteron of Theodora as Sole Ruler, mint of Constantinople
Histamenon of Eudokia Makrembolitissa as Regent, mint of Constantinople
Marriage Histamenon of Eudokia and Romanos IV, mint of Constantinople
Tetarteron of Eudokia and Romanos IV, mint of Constantinople
Tetarteron of Michael VII Doukas and Maria of Alania, mint of Constantinople
Assarion of Anna of Savoy and John V Palaiologos, mint of Thessaloniki
Seal of Anna Doukaina, Sebaste
Seal of Maria Komnene
Cross with Annunciation, Christ, Stylite Saint, and Inscription
Chalice Dedicated by Sarra, Syria
Chalice Dedicated by Anthousa and Ardabarios
The Virgin Blachernitissa, apse mosaic of Hagia Sophia
Representation of the Icon of the Virgin Hodegetria
The Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir with the Story of Its Miracles
The Icon of the Virgin of Vladimir Met at the Gates of Moscow
Conical Seal Stamp
Seal of Leon Skleros
Seal of the Protoproedros of the Dikaspoloi
Seal of Constantine Keroularios
Solidus of the Emperor Leo VI, mint of Constantinople
Histamenon of the Emperor John I Tzimiskes, mint of Constantinople
Miliaresion of the Emperoro Romanos III Argyros, mint of Constantinople
Miliaresion of the Emperor Constantine IX Monomachos, mint of Constantinople
Aspron Trachy Nomisma of the Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos, mint of Constantinople
Aspron Trachy Nomisma of John III Doukas, Emperor of Nicea, mint of Constantinople
Hyperpyron of the Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos, mint of Constantinople
Ostrakon with Hymn to the Virgin, Egypt
Votive Cross, Syria-Palestine
Pectoral Cross-Reliquary with Saints
Cross with Prayer to Thekla
Saint Thekla with Wild Beasts and Angels
Joseph fleeing Potiphar's wife, with domestic scene of women tending children and spinning; Vienna Genesis, fol. 16r
Dancer performing before the imperial family, detail, Pyxis
Homiletic Fragment Advising Women on Public Conduct, Egypt
Icon of the Birth of John the Baptist, Novgorod School
Panels from an Ivory Casket with the Story of Adam and Eve
Seated Dancer
Gable of a Funerary Stele with Family and Domestic Implements, Asia Minor
Spindle
Needle
Needle
Needle
Needle
Weaver's comb with a relief of Tyche, guardian goddess of a city
Textile Fragment with Flourishing Vine, Egypt
Roundel with Multicolored Ivy Leaves
Eight-Pointed Star Tapestry, Egypt
The Annunciation, Touton, Fayum
Tapestry hanging showing Hestia Polyolbos
Vessel depicting a dancing girl, Paphos, Cyprus
Architectural Frieze with Portraits in Medallions, Bawit (?)
Plaque with a Woman Carrying a Basket, Egypt (?)
Plaque with a Maenad, Egypt (?)
Plaque with a Maenad, Egypt (?)
Plaque with a Nereid Egypt (?)
Textile Fragment with Jeweled Border, Egypt (?)
Textile Fragment with Braid Motif, Egypt (?)
Textile Fragment with Leaf Motif, Egypt (?)
Fragments of a Textile Hanging with Female Busts, Egypt
Fragments of a Textile Hanging with Female Busts, Egypt
Tapestry Roundel with Eros and Horse, Egypt (?)
Tapestry Band with Female Bust, Egypt
Textile Roundel with Apollo and a Muse, Egypt
Textile Panel with Duck, Egypt (?)
Bowl with hunting scene
Silver Bowl
Bowl with Incised Leopard Attacking a Rabbit
Plate with Incised Bird
Plate with Incised Geometric Design
Ewer with Humans and Animals
Ewer with Humans and Animals, detail
Two-Handled Amphoriskos, Bodrum (?)
Jug, Heliopolis (now Baalbek), Lebannon
Glass Flask with Inscription
Polycandelon, Egypt or Eastern Mediterranean
Polycandelon, Bawit (?), Egypt
Lamp, Karpathos, Greece
Lamp, Eastern Mediterranean
Lampstand, Eastern Mediterranean
Candelabrum with Aphrodite
Candelabrum with Aphrodite, detail
Incense Burner with the Queen of Saba (?), Egypt
Lamp/Incense Burner with Scens from the Life of Christ, Palestine
Miniature Codex Containing "Oracles" in Sahidic, Egypt
Icon Pendant with Saint George
Icon with Koimesis of the Virgin, Constantinople
Icon with Koimesis of the Virgin, Constantinople
Icon of the Virgin and Child, Serbia or Crete
Icon of Saint Paraskeve (Saint Friday), Russian School
Icon Triptych with Feast Scenes, Greece, Cretan School
Icon Triptych with Feast Scenes, Greece, Cretan School, details
The Marriage at Cana, south chapel, church of Saint Nicholas Orphanos
The Marriage of Theophobos to the Sister of the Emperor Thophilos, Crowned by the Patriarch
The marriage of David and Michal, found at Cyrene, Cyprus
Gold Ring with Clasped Hands
Gemstone Ring with Clasped Hands
Marriage Ring Inscribed with Couple's Names
Seal Ring with Facing Busts
Marriage Ring with Facing Busts
Ring with Busts Flanking a Cross
Ring with Busts Flanking a Cross
Marriage Ring with Christ and Couple Flanking Cross
Marriage Ring Bezel with Bride and Groom Flanking Christ
Octagonal Marriage Ring with Holy Site Scenes
Marriage Belt, detail
Marriage Belt
Belt ornament
Projecta casket, view of the front (lid and base) from the left
Floor mosaic from a large private baths at Sidi Ghrib near Tunis
Muse casket
Portrait of a Woman with Earrings, Antinoöpolis, Egypt
Portrait of a Woman in a White Tunic, Egypt
Drop Earrings
Basket Earring
Basket Earring
Peacock and Cross Earrings
Earrings with Dedication
Earring in the Shape of a Female Nude, Egypt
Openwork Ring
Double Ring, Yakhmour, Syria (?)
Bracelet with the Personification of Charis, Eastern Mediterranean
Bracelet with Bust of Athena, Rome
Bracelet with Animals in Relief, Balkans (?)
Necklace with Cross Pendants
Necklace with Pendants
Pyxis with the Judgment of Paris, Egypt
Hairpin Fragment in the Form of a Woman's Head
Hairpin in the Form of Aphrodite
Hairpin with Decorated Top
Hair Comb
Spoon
Pyxis
Toiletry Box, Egypt (?)
Bottle
Jar
Tunic Fragment with Four Figures under Arches, Egypt (?)
Tunic Fragment with Birds, Flowers, Lions, and Dancers, Egypt (?)
Tapestry Band with Knot Motif, Egypt (?)
Textile Roundel with Figural Decoration, Egypt
Tapestry Panel with Inscription, North Syria (?)
Textile Fragment Depicting a Rabbit, Egypt
Rebecca giving birth to Jacob and Esau, Octaeuch, fol. 46v
Saint Sisinnios (the Holy Rider) killing the demon Alabasdria (Gylou), Bawit Monastery, Egypt
Medicine Box with Hygieia
Amulet Portraying the Woman with the Issue of Blood, obverse, Egypt (?)
Chnoubis Ring with Octagonal Band, Asia Minor
Amulet with Holy Rider and Evil Eye, Vicinity of Nazareth, Palestine (?)
Amulet with Holy Rider
Amulet with Holy Rider and Virgin Enthroned, Eastern Mediterranean
Amulet with Holy Rider and Evil Eye, Asia Minor
Token with Holy Rider, Asia Minor
Hystera Amulet with Saint Theophano
Hystera Amulet with Saints Helena and Constantine
Prayer for Pregnancy, Upper Egypt (?)
Protective Tablet
Necklace with Cross and Phylacteries, Eastern Mediterranean
Seal Ring with Virgin and Child
Ring with Virgin and Christ
Ring with Virgin and Child
Oval Medallion with Virgin and Child
Roundel with Virgin's Presentation
Ring with the Koimesis (Dormition of the Virgin)
Oval Pendant with Thekla, Eastern Mediterranean
Double-Sided Pendant with Saint Marina
Icon of Saint Marina, Tripoli (?)
Bilateral Icon: The Birth of the Virgin / Saints John of Novgorod, Sumeon the Stylite, and Nikita, Novgorod or Northern Province of Novgorod

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Contents

Contents

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.001

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18192

Free

Director’s Foreword

James Cuno

We at the Harvard University Art Museums are committed to advancing the knowledge and appreciation of art through exhibitions and their attendant publications. Often these derive from seminars taught by our colleagues elsewhere in the university. Byzantine Women and Their World began life as one such seminar and, with the help of Andrew W. Mellon...

Author

James Cuno

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.002

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18193

Preface and Acknowledgments

Free

Through artifacts and images, this exhibition presents the environment and concerns of women in Byzantine society. It grew out of a graduate seminar, “Women in Byzantine Art,” that I offered in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard during the spring of 1999. The dynamic exchange that this topic generated in class discussion and...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.003

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18194

Lenders to the Exhibition

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Lenders to the Exhibition

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.004

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18195

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Contributing Authors

Contributing Authors

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.005

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18196

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Notes on the Catalogue

Notes on the Catalogue

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.006

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18197

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Maps

Maps

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.007

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18198

Women in the Visual Record of Byzantium

The modern perception of women in the medieval world has suffered from a lack of adequate textual sources and material evidence relating to women’s lives. This...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.13-21

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.008

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18199

Chapter subject tags:Feminine beauty (Aesthetics) in artWomen--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500Art, ByzantineByzantine Empire--CivilizationWomen and gender, Byzantine

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Women in the History of Byzantium

Angeliki E. Laiou

The image of Byzantium in scholarly as well as popular perception has long suffered from two historical accidents. The first is the fact that one of the greatest masters of English historical prose turned his unsympathetic attention to the history of Byzantium. Edward Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, with its memorable turns of phrase, has done a great deal to...

Author

Angeliki E. Laiou

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.23-32

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.009

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18200

Chapter subject tags:Art, ByzantineWomen (Byzantine law)Byzantine Empire--HistoryWomen--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500Women and gender, Byzantine

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Catalogue of the Exhibition

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Catalogue of the Exhibition

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.010

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18201

Civic Life

Images of women had a prominent place in Byzantine civic life. Statues of goddesses, female allegories, and empresses dominated...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.35-65

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.011

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18202

Chapter subject tags:Art, ByzantineWomen (Byzantine law)Women--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500Women and gender, ByzantineByzantine Empire--Civilization

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Elite Women

Women from imperial and aristocratic families had great influence in Byzantine society. In exceptional cases, such as that of the mid-eleventh-century empress Theodora...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.67-111

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.012

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18203

Chapter subject tags:Art, ByzantineWomen art patronsWomen--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500Women and gender, ByzantineSocial classes, Byzantine

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Public Devotion

Bissera V. Pentcheva

Although recent generations have perceived Mary as a delicate and tender Virgin, Byzantines saw her as a woman of power...

Author

Bissera V. Pentcheva

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.113-137

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.013

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18204

Chapter subject tags:Mary, Blessed Virgin, Saint--ArtWomen art patronsIcons--CultRitualWomen--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500

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Work

Regarding her occupation, a woman of the Byzantine Empire had few choices. Girls were expected to marry young, have children, and take care of their families and households...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.139-159

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.014

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18205

Chapter subject tags:Art, ByzantineMarriage customs and rites, MedievalHousehold suppliesTextile fabrics, ByzantineWomen--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500

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Home

Although Byzantine women were not sequestered in the home, the public realm was a primarily male domain, and the domestic sphere was under the purview of women...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.161-213

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.015

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18206

Chapter subject tags:Art, ByzantineDecoration and ornament, ByzantineHousehold suppliesWomen--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500

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Marriage

Early Byzantine stories of female saints’ lives celebrated the penitent prostitute and the consecrated virgin, but these moral extremes...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.215-231

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.016

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18207

Chapter subject tags:Art, ByzantineMarriage customs and rites, MedievalMan-woman relationships in artWomen (Byzantine law)Women--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500

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Adornment

Early Christian Church writers, from Saint Paul to Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and John Chrysostom, strongly criticized the wearing of makeup...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.233-273

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.017

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18208

Chapter subject tags:Art, ByzantineJewelry, ByzantineCosmetics--HistoryHairstylesWomen--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500

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Health

Health problems considered minor today often turned into lifelong ailments in the Byzantine period, when effective drugs were lacking...

Author

PublisherHarvard Art Museums

Related print edition pages: pp.275-305

https://doi.org/10.37862/aaeportal.00029.018

Stable URL: https://aaeportal.com/?id=-18209

Chapter subject tags:Art, ByzantineChildbirthAmuletsWomen--Europe--History--Middle Ages, 500-1500

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