Agate Cameo of the Virgin and Child in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2008

Agate Cameo of the Virgin and Child
Byzantine (cameo)
Carved about 1050-1100, probably in Constantinople
Inscribed in Greek: [initials for] "Mother of God"
Gold setting made about 1800 by Adrien Jean Vachette in Paris, France

On loan to the Metropolitan Museum of Art from John C. Weber, Accession # L.1998.35

This delicately carved cameo shows the Virgin with her arms upraised in an orant pose and a medallion of the Christ child over her chest. This icon type is often called the Blachernitissa after a famous icon at the Blachernai monastery in Constantinople. The elegant setting crafted about 1800 by Adrien Jean Vachette, a leading goldsmith of his day, testifies to the appeal of Byzantine luxury goods in Napoleonic France.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.