early christian and byzantine art

Catacombs of Priscila

Rome, 2-4th century

tufa and fresco

burial site for Christians

Santa Sabina

Rome, 430

brick and stone

basilica church

Vienna Genesis

Byzantine Empire, 6th century

tempera, gold, and silver on purple vellum

Greek illuminated manuscript of Genesis

San Vitale

Ravenna, Italy, 530

brick, marble, stone veneer

church mosaic

Hagia Sophia

Istanbul, 530

brick, ceramic, stone

church

Merovingian looped fibulae

early Medieval Europe, 6th century

silver with inlaid garnet

brooch

Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George

early Byzantine Europe, 6th century

encaustic on wood

painting

Lindisfarne Gospels

Northumbria, 700

ink, pigment, and gold on vellum

copy of four Gospels, illuminated manuscript

Great Mosque at Cordoba

Spain, 780

stone

mosque

Pyxis of al-Mughira

Spain (Umayyad), 960

ivory and jade

cylindrical box for cosmetics (as a gift)

Alhambra

Spain, 1350

stucco, wood, tile, paint, gilding

palace

Mosque of Selim II

Turkey, 1570

brick and stone

designed by Mimar Sinan

Great Mosque of Djenne

Mali, 1200, rebuilt 1907

adobe

Kaaba

Mecca, Saudi Arabia, rededicated 630

granite, silk curtain, gold and silver thread

Dome of the Rock

Jerusalem, 690

stone, wooden roof, bronze dome, glazed ceramic tile, mosaics, gilt aluminum

shrine building

Great Mosque of Isfahan

Iran, 11th century

brick, stucco

Folio from a Qu’ran

Iraq, before 911

ink, color, and gold on vellum

Basin (Baptistere de Saint Louis)

Egypt/Syria, 1320

brass inlaid with silver and gold

Bahram Gur Fights the Karg

Iran, 1330

ink, colors, gold, and silver on paper

folio from Shanahma, Persian Book of Kings

The Court of Gayumars

Iran, 1525

opaque watercolor, ink, and gold on paper

illuminated manuscript of the Shahnama Persian Book of Kings

The Ardabil Carpet

Iran, 1540

silk and wool