Africa & Byzantium

Unknown artist (Roman Period), Shroud of a Woman Wearing a Fringed Tunic, A.D. 170–200, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.

Art history has long emphasized the glories of the Byzantine Empire (circa 330–1453), but less known are the profound artistic contributions of North Africa, Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, and other powerful African kingdoms whose pivotal interactions with Byzantium had a lasting impact on the Mediterranean world. Bringing together a range of masterworks —from mosaic, sculpture, pottery, and metalwork to luxury objects, paintings, and religious manuscripts— Africa and Byzantium recounts Africa’s central role in international networks of trade and cultural exchange. With artworks rarely or never before seen in public, Africa & Byzantium sheds new light on the staggering artistic achievements of medieval Africa. This long-overdue exhibition highlights how the continent contributed to the development of the premodern world and offers a more complete history of the vibrant multiethnic societies of north and east Africa that shaped the artistic, economic, and cultural life of Byzantium and beyond.

The exhibition website includes links to a large-print booklet of the exhibition text, the Audio Guide and all the objects in the exhibition.