Byzantium, Constantinople, Byzantine period / 1000–1100s
Ivory Box with Scenes of Adam and Eve
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Ivory Box with Scenes of Adam and Eve as ivory (Byzantium, Constantinople, Byzantine period · 1000–1100s).
Carved out of imported ivory by skilled craftsmen, boxes such as these were used by Byzantine elites to store luxury goods such as jewelry.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this ivory as ivory, wood.
The museum's collection notes: Scenes from the Old Testament stories of Adam and Eve and their children, Cain and Abel, decorate this box, which may have been made to contain jewelry or small valuables. On its lid two plaques depict the creation of Adam and the creation of Eve from Adam’s rib. Two further plaques depict Cain slaying Abel: Cain throws a stone in the direction of Abel, who is hit by stones in the hip, chest, and head.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtIvory Box with Scenes of Adam and EveOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.