Medieval Art: Byzantine, Romanesque, Gothic, Italian Gothic (Italo-Byzantine)

By Jonathan Lopez Francisco
  • 400

    works cited for "Steelyard Weight with a Bust of a Byzantine Empress and a Hook "

    Brooks, Sarah T. “Steelyard Weight with a Bust of a Byzantine Empress and a Hook.” metmuseum.org, THE MET, 1 October 2001, https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/466060. Accessed 16 November 2025.
  • Steelyard Weight with a Bust of a Byzantine Empress,400–450,Copper alloy,filled with lead,brass hook,9 1/2×4 1/2×2 13/16in,12.5lb(24.2×11.5×7.1cm,5664g)(Hook)8 7/8 ×3×1 1/4×1/4 in,0.4lb.(22.6×7.6×3.2×0.7cm,176g),The Metropolitan Museum of Art NY,Byzantine
    400

    Steelyard Weight with a Bust of a Byzantine Empress,400–450,Copper alloy,filled with lead,brass hook,9 1/2×4 1/2×2 13/16in,12.5lb(24.2×11.5×7.1cm,5664g)(Hook)8 7/8 ×3×1 1/4×1/4 in,0.4lb.(22.6×7.6×3.2×0.7cm,176g),The Metropolitan Museum of Art NY,Byzantine

    Back then Steelyard weights were often crafted to look like the busts of Byzantine empresses. This steelyard may depict the empress of the Theodosian dynasty, which ruled between 379 and 450. its weight being about five pounds roughly seven Byzantine litrae, which would have been used to measure heavier goods.
  • Period: 400 to 1453

    Byzantine

    often featuring detailed mosaics and illuminated manuscripts with glowing gold backgrounds and stylized figures that convey divine presence