Icon Fragment

Unknown

1200–1272 · Wood, canvas, gesso, tempera · Arms and Armor

This fragment from the lower edge of an icon is all that survives of the only known Byzantine-style icon found at a crusader site and suggests that Crusaders used icons. To the right is a red (purple) shoe decorated with pearls, typical of Byzantine imperial dress. Similar shoes are worn by the Virgin and by archangels, one of whose feet may be pictured here. The barely sandaled feet to the left might be those of Saint John the Forerunner (the Baptist).

Artist

Unknown

Date

1200–1272

Medium

Wood, canvas, gesso, tempera

Culture

Byzantine or Crusader

Department

Arms and Armor

Credit line

Gift of Clarence H. Mackay, Archer M. Huntington, Stephen H. P. Pell and Bashford Dean, 1928