Christ!

And yes, here it is Friday again. I have a cultural afternoon in town, visiting the Royal Academy and the Byzantium exhibition. The collection moves from 330 AD or the the foundation of Constantinople by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great and concludes with the capture of the city by the Ottoman forces of Mehmed II in 1453. The remarkable piece in the collection is the Antioch Chalice (on loan from the NY MOMA). After its discovery in 1911, the silver gilted AC was believed to have been the Holy Grail, the cup used by Christ at the Last Supper. Holy cow! Other highlights are the two-sided icon of Virgin Hodegetria (obverse) and the Man of Sorrows (reverse), 12th century, from the Byzantine Museum, Kastoria, an impressive 10–11th century imperial ivory casket from Troyes cathedral depicting hunting scenes and riders and the Homilies of Monk James Kokkinobaphos, a manuscript from 1100–1150AD. I learn how the epoch produced icons of Christ, the Virgin Mary and other figures which became powerful religious symbols recognised then and today. In fact, the smartest thing Constantinople did was accept Christianity, which became the dominant religion of the Roman Empire within 100 years. Last month I saw Hadrian at the British Museum which covered his reign up to about Constantinople.

Indiana Jones: The Ark of the Covenant, the chest that the Hebrews used to carry around the Ten Commandments.
Major Eaton: What, you mean THE Ten Commandments?
Indiana: Yes, the actual Ten Commandments, the original stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mt. Horeb and smashed, if you believe in that sort of thing...
[the officers stare at him blankly]
Indiana: Didn't any of you guys ever go to Sunday school?