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Source Description
This rare surviving hanging with Christian symbols likely served as a wall decoration in a church or a home. The three men who stand beneath an arch may represent the three Hebrews who refused to worship a golden idol, and when cast into the fiery furnace, remained unharmed due to God’s deliverance (Daniel 3:19–30). Above them is a Christogram formed by the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek, <em>X</em> (chi) and <em>P</em> (rho), flanked by the letters for alpha and omega. Beneath the arch, an ankh, an ancient Egyptian symbol of life, is framed by two birds. Another Christogram appears above the arch between two peacocks. The significance of the combined use of these images and symbols lies in their invocation of Christ’s redemptive and life-giving power.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
151044
label
Hanging with Christian Images
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
151044
contentType
object
title
Hanging with Christian Images
description
This rare surviving hanging with Christian symbols likely served as a wall decoration in a church or a home. The three men who stand beneath an arch may represent the three Hebrews who refused to worship a golden idol, and when cast into the fiery furnace, remained unharmed due to God’s deliverance (Daniel 3:19–30). Above them is a Christogram formed by the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek, <em>X</em> (chi) and <em>P</em> (rho), flanked by the letters for alpha and omega. Beneath the arch, an ankh, an ancient Egyptian symbol of life, is framed by two birds. Another Christogram appears above the arch between two peacocks. The significance of the combined use of these images and symbols lies in their invocation of Christ’s redemptive and life-giving power.
date
500s
citation
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60752348
genreSpecific
Textile
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 110.5 x 76.8 cm (43 1/2 x 30 1/4 in.); Mounted: 120.9 x 87 x 3.9 cm (47 5/8 x 34 1/4 x 1 9/16 in.)
cul
Egypt, Byzantine period
accession
1982.73
Source extras
tec
dyed wool, undyed linen: plain weave (tabby) with inwoven tapestry weave
tombstone
Hanging with Christian Images, 500s. Egypt, Byzantine period. Dyed wool, undyed linen: plain weave (tabby) with inwoven tapestry weave; overall: 110.5 x 76.8 cm (43 1/2 x 30 1/4 in.); mounted: 120.9 x 87 x 3.9 cm (47 5/8 x 34 1/4 x 1 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund, 1982.73
collection
T - Coptic
inscriptions
inscription
inscribed below the ankh cross: IXOYC.
didYouKnow
The two peacocks in the upper half of this composition represent immortality. Ancient Greeks and Romans believed that the body of the peacock did not decay after death and when this imagery was adopted by Christianity, the bird came to be associated with resurrection.
citations
citation
Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review for 1982.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 70, no. 1 (January 1983): 3–55.
page_number
Mentioned: no. 75, p. 5; Reproduced: no. 75, p. 25
citation
Klein, Holger A. <em>Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 68–69, no. 17
citation
Williams, Elizabeth Dospěl. "Sacred Imagery." In <em>Woven Interiors: Furnishing Early Medieval Egypt, </em>63–68. Washington: The George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, 2019.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 65–66, fig. 13
citation
Sörries, Reiner. <em>Der frühchristliche Kirchenraum: Ikonographie - Ausstattung - Liturgie</em>. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag, 2020.
page_number
Mentioned: p. 128; reproduced: Tafel 54, Abb. 80b
citation
Sánchez Galera, José María, and Gregorio Luri Medrano. <em>La edad de las nueces: los niños en el Imperio Romano</em>. Madrid: Ediciones Encuentro S.A., 2021.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 316, fig. 41
citation
Achi, Andrea Myers, et al. <em>Africa and Byzantium</em>. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2023.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 200–201, fig. 75
creditline
John L. Severance Fund
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:48:15.112000
sourceId
151044
dept
Textiles
coll
T - Coptic
med
dyed wool, undyed linen: plain weave (tabby) with inwoven tapestry weave
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a65c86e79c8879d1