Hanging with Christian Images
Unknown Artist
500s
Medium
dyed wool, undyed linen: plain weave (tabby) with inwoven tapestry weave
Dimensions
{"overall":{"height":1.105,"width":0.768},"mounted":{"height":1.209,"width":0.87,"depth":0.039}}
Classification
Textile
Department
Textiles
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
John L. Severance Fund
Accession Number
1982.73
About this artwork
This rare surviving hanging with Christian symbols likely served as a wall decoration in a church or a home. The three men who stand beneath an arch may represent the three Hebrews who refused to worship a golden idol, and when cast into the fiery furnace, remained unharmed due to God’s deliverance (Daniel 3:19–30). Above them is a Christogram formed by the first two letters of Christ’s name in Greek, X (chi) and P (rho), flanked by the letters for alpha and omega. Beneath the arch, an ankh, an ...