Major sakkos of Photios
Date:
1414 to 1417
Medium:
Silk,
Silver or gold thread,
Pearl,
Silver
Dimensions:
135 × 112 cm
Description:
This heavily embellished garment, called a sakkos, was made for Metropolitan Photios, who was appointed by the Byzantine patriarch in Constantinople to preside over the Orthodox Church in Moscow. It is adorned with images of Orthodox feasts, saints, and bishops, including Photios. Images of the Muscovite Grand Prince with his wife, daughter, and son-in-law, the future Byzantine emperor John VIII Palaiologos, suggest that the garment was made in Constantinople between 1414 and 1417 to acknowledge the growing importance of Moscow and, at the same time, to advertise Byzantine ecclesiastical authority.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
10
Repository and Online Resources:
• Zoom in on the garment on the Kremlin Armory Museum website.
Image Credits:
Kremlin Armory Museum, Collection Online
