David Plates
Type:
Plates
Date:
ca. 629/30
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Cyprus
Medium:
Silver
Dimensions:
Three different diameters of approximately 49 cm, 27 cm, and 14 cm
Description:
In 1902, nine silver display plates with scenes from the life of the biblical King David were found in Cyprus along with other metalwork treasures (jewelry, silver dinner plates, bronze lamps and ewers). The so-called David Plates were made in three different sizes and include depictions of David and Goliath, the presentation of David to Saul, and Samuel anointing David. The images were carved down into the silver from the front rather than being executed through repoussé (hammering from the reverse side).
Although their exact place of production is unknown, the David Plates may have been made to show the biblical king as a model or type of the Byzantine emperor. The combat themes may have commemorated the successful war that the soldier-emperor Herakleios (r. 610–41) waged against the Sasanians until 628. He captured the relic of the True Cross that the Sasanians had taken from Jerusalem and returned it to David's city in 630. The plates are significant as examples of pre-Iconoclastic biblical imagery in Byzantium.
Although their exact place of production is unknown, the David Plates may have been made to show the biblical king as a model or type of the Byzantine emperor. The combat themes may have commemorated the successful war that the soldier-emperor Herakleios (r. 610–41) waged against the Sasanians until 628. He captured the relic of the True Cross that the Sasanians had taken from Jerusalem and returned it to David's city in 630. The plates are significant as examples of pre-Iconoclastic biblical imagery in Byzantium.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
3
Repository and Online Resources:
• The plates are now divided between the Cyprus Museum in Nicosia and the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
• Read the Metropolitan Museum's Resource for Educators on the David Plates.
