The oval plaque is slightly convex and, although its original function is not certain, it may have adorned a cross or a reliquary. The enamel with cloisonne technique represents a half-length image of the Virgin supporting the Christ Child on her left arm. The abbreviated inscription, Mother of God, flanks the figures. The Virgin is identified as Mother of God, one of her standard titles in Orthodox Christianity. The figure of Christ, shown from head to toes, is given his special cruciform halo.

The cloisonné technique is clearly visible because some of the enamel is missing: fine partitions, “cloisons” in French, were attached perpendicularly to the background to create all the interior details. The cells created by the partitions were filled with differently colored powdered glass, known as frit, which vitrified when heated. The hard surface was then smoothed and polished to take on the luster of durable enamel. Although much of the surface has deteriorated, probably due to burial, many of the original colors are still recognizable: the skin is white, the hair and eyes are black, the Virgin’s mantle is blue, Christ halo is white with a red cross, and the letters of the inscription are red.

Early Christian and Byzantine Art, An Exhibition held at the Baltimore Museurm of Art, ed. D. E. Miner (Baltimore, 1947), no. 523, pl. 72.

The Dumbarton Oaks Collection, Harvard University, Handbook (Washington, D.C., 1955), no. 271.

M. C. Ross, Catalogue of the Byzantine and Early Mediaeval Antiquities in the Dumbarton Oaks Collection, II: Jewelry, Enamels and Art of the Migration Period (Washington, D.C., 1965), no. 145.

Dumbarton Oaks, Handbook of the Byzantine Collection (Washington, D.C., 1967), no. 248.

K. Wessel, Die Byzantinische Emailkunst (Recklinghausen, 1967), no. 16. (Eng. language ed., Byzantine Enamels of the 5th to the 13th century [Greenwich, CT, 1967]).

Baltimore Museum, Early Christian and Byzantine Art, April 1947 through May 1947.

Purchased from Joseph Altounian, Paris (dealer) by Brummer, June 7, 1946;

Purchased from Brummer Gallery, August 15, 1947 [Brummer object inventory card number P16101];

Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection, Byzantine Collection, Washington, D.C.