Panel from an Ivory Casket with the Story of Adam and Eve in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, April 2010

Panel from an Ivory Casket with the Story of Adam and Eve
Byzantine
Carved 900-1100, probably in Constantinople
Inscribed in Greek

Accession # 17.190.138, .139

These panels are from a series of scenes of the lives of Adam and Eve that originally decorated a small box. On one panel, Adam and Eve, identified by Greek inscriptions, harvest grain; on the other they work at a metal forge. Two intact caskets that show similar scenes of Adam and Eve's toil also depict Ploutos, the personification of wealth- a reminder to the owner of the treasure stored in the casket that prosperity is a gift from God and that God favors those who repent for their sins.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.