01
Canvas
A coated cotton-polyester canvas, with deep, true color and the texture of the weave.
New
See it on your wall
Take a photo of your wall, straight on and in good light, or use one you already have. We hang the piece on it at its real size.
That photo could not be opened. Try a JPEG or PNG.
Your photo stays on your device. It is placed in your browser and never uploaded.
Drag the piece to move it.
Drag the two dots to the ends of something on the same wall whose width you know, then enter it. A door is about 30 in wide, a sofa about 84 in.
Pax Romana Art
The Varangian Guard
The Great Palace, Constantinople · 11th century AD
740 kr876 kr
Save 136 kr
Opening offer · Ends Nov 22
- Printed in the USA. Printed, stretched, and shipped in the USA.
- Free US shipping. Tracking included on every order.
- Canvas, framed or not. Stretched over FSC-certified wooden bars, or set in a wooden frame with a 12 mm gap around it.
- Hanging hardware included. Framed canvas arrives assembled, with the hanger attached.
- Arrives perfect — guaranteed. Damaged or defective? Free reprint or refund.
Details & specs
Framed canvas
- Canvas (cotton-polyester blend)
- Set in a wooden frame with a 12 mm (0.45″) gap around the canvas
- 42 mm (1.65″) deep
- Arrives assembled and ready to hang: hanger attached, screws or nails included
Canvas
- Canvas (cotton-polyester blend)
- Stretched over FSC-certified wooden bars
- Hanging hardware included
- Sizes: 12x18″ · 16x24″ · 24x36″
- Orientation: Vertical
- Medium: Canvas
- Style: History painting
- Era: Byzantium
Shipping & returns
Made to order and printed and framed in the USA. Produced in 1–2 business days, delivered 2–5 business days after that — 3–7 business days door to door. Free US shipping, tracked.
Damaged, defective or the wrong item? Email a photo within 7 days of delivery and we send a free replacement or a full refund. Because every piece is made to order, change-of-mind returns are not accepted.
Scroll to zoom · drag to pan
Pinch to zoom · swipe for more
The Varangian GuardFramed canvas · Black · 12x18″
740 kr
876 krSave 136 kr
The Great Palace, Constantinople · 11th century AD
The Emperor's Axe-Bearers
The Varangian Guard grew out of a bargain. Around AD 988 the emperor Basil II, facing a dangerous rebellion, asked Prince Vladimir of Kiev for help, and Vladimir sent a force of warriors, often given as six thousand men. Basil kept them as a guard set apart from the court, loyal to the emperor rather than to any faction. Byzantine writers such as Anna Komnene called them the axe-bearers, after the broad axes they carried on their shoulders.
Service in Constantinople, which the Norse called Miklagard, the Great City, was famous across the North. The best known Varangian is Harald Sigurdsson, later King Harald Hardrada of Norway, who served in the 1030s and early 1040s. Runestones in Sweden remember men who died in Greece, as the Norse called the empire. After 1066 many English warriors arrived, and by the twelfth century the guard was largely English.
The piece
The painting places the guard at the threshold of power. Bronze doors with lion-head panels rise on the left, a candlestand burns at his side, and porphyry columns and golden vaults open behind him. His weight rests on one leg, his axe upright, his eyes turned to something outside the frame. Two companions stand farther back in the half-light, each with an axe and a round shield, waiting as he does.
Materia · The materials
Canvas, framed or not.
01
02
Wooden stretcher bars
The canvas is stretched over FSC-certified wooden bars.
03
Floating frame
Black, natural wood or dark brown, with a 12 mm (0.45″) gap around the canvas. 42 mm (1.65″) deep.
04
Ready for the wall
Framed canvas arrives assembled, hanger attached, screws or nails included. Canvas comes with its hanging hardware.
Size guide
Find the right size
This piece, to scale, above an 84-inch sofa. Pick a size, or a format and frame above, and the wall follows.
Which size?
Sizes are the artwork's. Frames and hangers add a little around the edge.
Above a sofa or bed, art looks best at about two-thirds of the furniture's width, hung 8 to 10 inches above it.
Keep exploring
Find your next piece of Rome
This piece's collection first. Pick a style, a format or another collection for the rest.
New pieces are on their way. Check back soon.