id: 160970 accession number: 1999.229 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1999.229 updated: 2019-06-05 09:36:31.303000 Reliquary Box with Scenes from the Life of John the Baptist, 1300s. Byzantium, Constantinople, late Byzantine period, 14th century. Tempera and gold on wood; overall: 9 x 23.5 x 9 cm (3 9/16 x 9 1/4 x 3 9/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Bruce Ferrini in memory of Robert P. Bergman 1999.229 title: Reliquary Box with Scenes from the Life of John the Baptist title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1300s creation date earliest: 1300 creation date latest: 1400 current location: 105 Byzantine creditline: Gift of Bruce Ferrini in memory of Robert P. Bergman copyright: --- culture: Byzantium, Constantinople, late Byzantine period, 14th century technique: tempera and gold on wood department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Byzantine type: Wood find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 9 x 23.5 x 9 cm (3 9/16 x 9 1/4 x 3 9/16 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: John the Baptist--the first person to recognize Christ as the promised savior and the one who baptized him in the Jordan River--was one of the Byzantine Empire’s most revered saints. This box shows four scenes from the saint’s life: John’s martyrdom, Christ’s baptism, John’s birth, and the announcement of his birth to his parents. It probably once housed one of the saint’s relics; several were kept in churches and monasteries in Constantinople, including fragments of his skull and right arm and locks of his blood-clotted hair. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.229/1999.229_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.229/1999.229_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1999.229/1999.229_full.tif