Ivory Icon with the Crucifixion in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2008

Ivory Icon with the Crucifixion
Byzantine
Carved mid-900s, probably in Constantinople

Accession # 17.190.44

This unique icon shows Christ on the cross flanked by the mourning figures of the Virgin and Saint John. Below Christ's feet, in a scene bearing a Greek inscription, "The Division of the Cloak" are several Roman soldiers drawing lots for Christ's garment. A reclining figure pierced by the base of the cross- the only such image known- is identified by another inscription, "The cross implanted in the stomach of Hades." The inclusion of the figure of Hades emphasizes the Christian belief that through his suffering on the cross, Christ won a victory over death for all people.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of Art label.