St. John Chrysostom and an Unidentified Saint in the Walters Art Museum, September 2009

Unidentified Saint and Saint John Chrysostom


Creator: Byzantine (Artist)

Period: 10th century (Medieval)

Medium: ivory (Ivory & Bone)

Accession Number: 71.291

Measurements: 3 1/8 x 6 1/2 x 3/8 in. (8 x 16.5 x 1 cm)

Geographies: Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey) (?) (Place of Origin)


This rectangular plaque, which may once have decorated the side of a box, shows at the right St. John Chrysostom (d. 407), archbishop of Constantinople and one of the great authorities of the Orthodox Church, with his right hand raised in blessing. The identity of the second saint remains uncertain, although his clothes, and especially his tunic clasped at the shoulder, suggest that he was an early martyr.

Text from: art.thewalters.org/detail/37793/unidentified-saint-and-sa...