Pendant with Reverse Intaglio of the Anastasis (late 500s): Art, History and Details

Pendant with Reverse Intaglio of the Anastasis (late 500s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This pendant consists of two dome-shaped pieces of rock crystal, one of which has the design cut into its reverse. The subject is the Anastasis, which shows Christ entering the gates of Hell and releasing Old Testament figures said to have believed in his divinity before his birth. On the left, Christ (with a cross staff) reaches out to Adam, who kneels before him. Eve stands behind, also reaching out her hand. The chain may be of later date.

Object facts

• Title: Pendant with Reverse Intaglio of the Anastasis
• Date: late 500s
• Culture: Byzantium, late 6th century
• Type: Jewelry
• Technique: rock crystal, with gold mount and chain
• Dimensions: Part 1: 4.2 x 3.3 cm (1 5/8 x 1 5/16 in.); Part 2: 25.8 cm (10 3/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Byzantine
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1983.209

Collection credit

Gift of Dr. Norman Zaworski in honor of Mr. and Mrs. William D. Wixom

Further reading listed by the museum

• Turner, Evan H. “Year in Review for 1983.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 71, no. 2 (February 1984): 38–79.

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.