Plate with the Battle of David and Goliath
Unknown Artist
629–30
Medium
Silver
Dimensions
Overall: 19 7/16 x 2 5/8 in., 203.9oz. (49.4 x 6.6 cm, 5780g) foot: 8 1/8 x 3/4 in. (20.6 x 1.9 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Silver
Culture
Byzantine
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.396
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite silver plate, crafted in the Byzantine Empire around 629–630, captures the dramatic biblical confrontation between the young shepherd David and the Philistine giant Goliath. Created in a period of renewed imperial strength following Emperor Heraclius’s campaigns, the work reflects how biblical narratives served as powerful symbols of faith and divine protection for Byzantine rulers and their subjects. The choice of silver as the medium underscores the plate’s prestige. Such large, finely worked vessels were luxury items often produced in imperial workshops, combining functional...