The Collection

Byzantine

Byzantine polymer clay cutters draw on the ornament of the eastern Roman world, the vocabulary of Ravenna, Constantinople and the early Christian era. Byzantine forms include the equal-armed cross, the rosette, the vine scroll, opus sectile inlay and the double-headed eagle, along with acanthus foliage, guilloche borders and confronted birds like the peacock and dove.

This category gathers those distinctly Byzantine motifs, set apart from the Islamic and Ottoman traditions by their crosses, interlace and Christian symbolism. Each cutter shapes the outline and embosses the inner detail in a single press. Browse the Byzantine clay cutters below, drawn from scratch and tested in clay.