Painted panels · 5 sourcessource-backed
Portable painted icon format using a wooden support, executed in encaustic in some early examples and tempera in many later works.
Raw material / supportWood Panel · Linen Interlayer
PreparationLinen Facing / Interlayering · Gesso Ground
Making techniqueEgg Tempera · Pigment Particles
Finish / assemblyGold Leaf · Bole
Visual / physical effectGold Ground · Burnished Gold Reflectance
Surviving object evidenceIcon of the Virgin and Child, Hodegetria variant
Condition / reconstructionSurface Abrasion · Varnish Alteration
Painted panels · 4 sourcessource-backed
Tempera painting became a major medium for later Byzantine panel icons and manuscript images; BIU treats it separately from the object or support.
Raw material / supportEgg-Yolk Binder · Pigment Particles
PreparationPigment Preparation
Making techniqueEgg Tempera
Surviving object evidenceIcon of the Virgin and Child, Hodegetria variant · Manuscript Illumination with the Evangelist Luke
Condition / reconstructionSurface Abrasion
Encaustic · 2 sourcessource-backed
Painting technique in which pigment is suspended in wax; several early panel icons preserved at Sinai use this method.
Raw material / supportWax Binder · Pigment Particles
Making techniqueEncaustic
Surviving object evidence—
Mosaic + tesserae · 2 sourcessource-backed
A monumental medium included within the Byzantine category of icons and church image programs.
Raw material / supportGlass Tesserae · Stone Tesserae
Making techniqueTessera Setting
Visual / physical effectMosaic Shimmer
Surviving object evidenceMosaic Tesserae
Condition / reconstruction—
Mosaic + tesserae · 1 sourcesource-backed
Portable mosaic technique using tiny tesserae, exemplified by late Byzantine icons such as the Met’s Virgin Eleousa.
Raw material / supportWood Panel · Glass Tesserae
Making techniqueMiniature Mosaic
Surviving object evidencePortable Icon with the Virgin Eleousa
Fresco + wall painting · 2 sourcessource-backed
A wall-painting medium included among Byzantine sacred image forms and church decoration.
Raw material / supportLime Plaster
Making techniquePainting on Wet Plaster · Secco Painting
Surviving object evidenceWall Painting of Male Saint
Condition / reconstructionModern Restoration
Ivory + soft stone · 2 sourcessource-backed
A carved material used for portable Byzantine icons; several BIU001 seed objects are ivory.
Raw material / supportIvory
Making techniqueRelief Carving
Visual / physical effectCarved Relief Depth
Surviving object evidenceIcon with Christ Pantokrator (Met 17.190.66) · Icon with the Virgin and Child (Met 17.190.103)
Ivory + soft stone · 2 sourcessource-backed
A soft stone used for small carved Byzantine icons.
Raw material / supportSteatite
Making techniqueRelief Carving
Surviving object evidenceIcon with Christ Pantepotes and the Chorus of Saints
Gemstone + glyptic · 2 sourcessource-backed
Gemstone and hard-stone carving formed part of the broad material range of Byzantine sacred imagery.
Raw material / supportAgate · Chalcedony
Making techniqueCameo Carving
Visual / physical effectCarved Relief Depth
Surviving object evidenceCameo of the Virgin and Child · Pendant Brooch with Cameo of Enthroned Virgin and Child and Christ Pantokrator
Enamel + metalwork · 4 sourcessource-backed
An enamel technique represented by a BIU001 public-domain pendant object from Constantinople.
Raw material / supportPrecious Metal · Glass Frit
Making techniqueCloisonné Enamel
Visual / physical effectEnamel Polychromy
Surviving object evidenceDouble-Sided Pendant Icon (Met 1994.403) · Panel from a Cover for an Icon of the Virgin
Condition / reconstructionEnamel Loss
Revetment + mounting · 4 sourcessource-backed
Precious-metal cover added to an icon, increasingly prominent in Middle and Late Byzantine devotion while leaving selected image areas visible.
Raw material / supportPrecious Metal · Copper Alloy
Making techniqueNiello · Cloisonné Enamel
Finish / assemblyIcon Revetment
Surviving object evidencePanel from a Cover for an Icon of the Virgin · Medallion with Saint George from an Icon Frame
Textiles · 3 sourcessource-backed
Sacred imagery could be woven or embroidered in textile; textiles also form part of Byzantine ecclesiastical and court culture.
Raw material / supportSilk · Wool
Making techniqueDrawloom Weaving · Samit Weave
Visual / physical effectWoven Polychromy
Ceramics · 2 sourcessource-backed
Ceramic is among the materials in which Byzantine sacred images and icon-like representations could be made.
Raw material / supportEarthenware
PreparationCeramic Slip · Slip Coating
Making techniqueSgraffito
Finish / assemblyCeramic Glaze · Ceramic Glazing
Visual / physical effectGlaze Surface Luster
Surviving object evidenceBowl with Face · Bowl with Ornamented Rosette
Manuscripts · 5 sourcessource-backed
Painted and gilded imagery integrated with or inserted into Byzantine codices.
Raw material / supportParchment · Black Ink
PreparationParchment Preparation · Pigment Preparation
Making techniqueManuscript Illumination · Chrysography
Finish / assemblyManuscript Binding
Surviving object evidenceManuscript Illumination with the Evangelist Luke · Illuminated Psalter
Enamel + metalwork · 4 sourcessource-backed
A precious metal used in Byzantine liturgical and devotional metalwork in BIU014, including patens, chalices, censers, and processional crosses.
Raw material / supportSilver · Precious Metal
Surviving object evidenceProcessional Cross (Met 1993.163) · Paten (Met 1987.442.1)
British MuseumIcon with the Triumph of Orthodoxy
Open source ↗text-reference-only; collection image reuse requires current British Museum terms review
British MuseumIcon with four Church Feasts
Open source ↗text-reference-only; collection image reuse requires current British Museum terms review
The Icon Museum and Study CenterCreation of an Icon
Open source ↗text-reference-only; modern icon-making demonstration is a reconstruction/teaching source, not universal proof of Byzantine workshop practice
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtIcon of the Virgin and Child, Hodegetria variant
Open source ↗Public Domain object image on current Met record; Open Access terms apply
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtCross-Cultural Connections in the Icon of the Virgin and Child
Open source ↗text-reference-only; object image rights require per-record review
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtManuscript Illumination with the Evangelist Luke
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Byzantine State under Justinian I (Justinian the Great)
Open source ↗text-reference-only
SmarthistoryIcon with Virgin (Theotokos) and Child between Saints Theodore and George
Open source ↗text-reference-only; page imagery separately credited
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtMosaic Tesserae
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
SmarthistoryMosaics and microcosm: the monasteries of Hosios Loukas, Nea Moni, and Daphni
Open source ↗text-reference-only; image rights vary by credited work
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtPortable Icon with the Virgin Eleousa
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtFrescoes and Wall Painting in Late Byzantine Art
Open source ↗text-reference-only; image rights vary by credited work
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtWall Painting of Male Saint
Open source ↗Public Domain object image on current Met record; Open Access terms apply
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtByzantine Ivories
Open source ↗text-reference-only; object image rights require per-record review
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtIcon with the Koimesis
Open source ↗museum-object-reference; check current image rights before reuse
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtIcon with Christ Pantepotes and the Chorus of Saints
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtCameo of the Virgin and Child
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtPendant Brooch with Cameo of Enthroned Virgin and Child and Christ Pantokrator
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Arts of Byzantium
Open source ↗text-reference-only; object image rights require per-record review
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtDouble-Sided Pendant Icon with the Virgin and Christ Pantokrator
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtPanel from a Cover for an Icon of the Virgin
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtMedallion with Saint George from an Icon Frame
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtIcons and Iconoclasm in Byzantium
Open source ↗text-reference-only
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtCenser Handle with Virgin Orant
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtWoven Silk
Open source ↗text-reference-only; image rights vary by credited work
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtChristian Imagery on Silk Textiles: The Annunciation Silk
Open source ↗text-reference-only; image rights vary by credited work
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtByzantium: Faith and Power (1261–1557)
Open source ↗text-reference-only
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtBowl with Face
Open source ↗Public Domain object image on current Met record; Open Access terms apply
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtBowl with Ornamented Rosette
Open source ↗Public Domain object image on current Met record; Open Access terms apply
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtIlluminated Psalter
Open source ↗museum-object-reference; check current image rights before reuse
J. Paul Getty MuseumGospel Book with Fifteen Full-Page Scenes from the Lives of Christ and the Virgin
Open source ↗record-reference; image rights follow Getty terms
J. Paul Getty MuseumThe Alchemy of Color in Medieval Manuscripts
Open source ↗text-reference-only; examples extend beyond Byzantium and are used only for bounded medieval manuscript-material context
J. Paul Getty MuseumThe Making of a Medieval Book
Open source ↗text-reference-only; medieval manuscript process is broader than Byzantium and is used only as a qualified comparison/context source
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtProcessional Cross
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtPaten
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtCenser with Six Holy Figures
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
The Metropolitan Museum of ArtThe Attarouthi Treasure - Chalice
Open source ↗public-domain-image-and-open-access-data
