Bloodstone Cameo with Saint George (1000–1100): Art, History and Details

Bloodstone Cameo with Saint George (1000–1100) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

Bearing the image of Saint George, one of the Byzantine Empire’s most popular saints, this cameo served as a powerful devotional and protective device. Close physical contact with a holy image was believed to enhance its effectiveness, creating a strong bond between the worshipper and the devotional object. Originally worn around the neck, this cameo was easily kissed and touched in moments of distress or crisis. Bloodstone was also believed to carry magical medicinal powers to stop hemorrhages and increase blood circulation.

Object facts

• Title: Bloodstone Cameo with Saint George
• Date: 1000–1100
• Culture: Byzantium, Contantinople, Byzantine period, 11th century
• Type: Glyptic
• Technique: bloodstone
• Dimensions: Overall: 3.2 x 2.8 x 1.4 cm (1 1/4 x 1 1/8 x 9/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Byzantine
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1959.41

A detail from the museum

Legends about bravery can be comforting in times of distress. The wearer of this cameo, for example, may have thought about the fearlessness of Saint George in his battle against the dragon.

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Burgold, Karl "Das Herzogliche Museum," Mit einem Unhang: Die herzoglischen Unstalten für Kunst und Wissenschaft seit 1934 (Gotha, 1937).
• Art Quarterly (Summer 1959).
• “Appointment.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 46, no. 4 (1959).

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.