Africa and Byzantium

The first exploration of the artistic and cultural intersections of the African continent and the Byzantine world

Medieval art history has long emphasized the glories of the Byzantine Empire, but less known are the profound artistic contributions of Egypt, Nubia, Ethiopia, and other powerful African kingdoms whose pivotal interactions with Byzantium had an indelible impact on the Mediterranean world.

Bringing together masterworks in a range of mediums and techniques—from mosaic, sculpture, pottery, and metalwork to luxury objects, panel paintings, and religious manuscripts—this publication recounts Africa’s centrality in far-flung transcontinental networks of trade and cultural exchange. With incisive scholarship and new photography of works rarely or never before seen in public, Africa and Byzantium sheds new light on the staggering artistic achievements of medieval Africa.

This long-overdue publication reconsiders the continent’s contributions to the development of the premodern world and offers a more complete history of Africa as a vibrant, multiethnic society of diverse languages and faiths that played a key role in the artistic, economic, and cultural life of Byzantium and beyond.

Published by The Metropolitan Museum of Art / Distributed by Yale University Press

Exhibition Schedule

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
(November 19, 2023–March 3, 2024)

The Cleveland Museum of Art
(April 14–July 21, 2024)