Three centuries after ancient Egypt’s pharaohs ended their rule, new African rulers built empires in the continent’s north and east.

Spanning from the Aksumite Empire in present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea to Nubia’s Christian kingdoms in present-day Sudan, these complex civilizations cultivated economic, political, and cultural relationships with one another. The Byzantine Empire (Byzantium)—inheritor of the Roman Empire—also participated in these artistic and cultural networks as it briefly expanded into northern Africa—present-day Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, and Egypt.

The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) in conjunction with New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art present the international exhibit Africa & Byzantium—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see nearly 160 secular and sacred artworks from across geographies and faiths.

The exhibit, which examines a convergence of art and culture that shaped the world, opened this past Sunday, April 14 and runs through Sunday, July 21 in the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation Exhibition Hall.

Africa & Byzantium considers the complex artistic relationships between northern and eastern African Christian kingdoms and the Byzantine Empire from the fourth century CE and beyond.

The works are on loan from collections in Africa, Europe, and North America. Many of the works have never been exhibited in the United States, according to Kristen Windmuller-Luna, CMA’s curator of African art. She says most were made by African artists or imported to the continent at the request of the powerful rulers of pre-colonial kingdoms and empires.

From monumental frescoes, mosaics, and luxury goods such as metalwork and jewelry to panel paintings, architectural elements, textiles, and illuminated manuscripts, the exhibition explores the great civilizations that created their own unique arts while also building a shared visual culture across the regions linked by the Mediterranean and Red Seas, the Nile River, and the Sahara Desert.

Icon with the Virgin Galaktotrophousa, c. 1250–1350“This exhibition answers the question, ‘What happened after the fall of Rome and ancient Egypt?’ through beautiful artworks from northern and eastern African kingdoms and the Byzantine empire,” says Windmuller-Luna. “The art and faith of these historical kingdoms—including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam—resonate with many worldwide today. As [the exhibit] celebrates this deep artistic history, it also considers its legacy in our Greater Cleveland area faith and heritage communities.”

Highlights Africa & Byzantium include:

• A recently acquired Ethiopian Orthodox Christian diptych painted by Wäldä Maryam, or his workshop, around 1700.
• Three larger-than-life medieval frescoes from Sudan’s Cathedral of Faras depicting the Virgin Mary, as well as Nubians protected by saints and Christ himself.
• The only icon painting by Angelos Akotantos (Cretan, d. 1450) in an American museum collection (CMA).