Enthroned Virgin and Child

Enthroned Virgin and Child

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This statuette of the Virgin and Child was produced at a time when Paris was the principal European center of ivory carving. The sensitively carved face of the Virgin generates a tender aura, presenting her as a loving mother rather than the Queen of Heaven. The head of the child Jesus is a modern replacement.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.