Saltcellar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Refined design, exquisite craftsmanship, and costly materials make this a rare and unusually precious object. The rock crystal, cut in the shape of a boat, may have served as a container for salt. Such table objects are described in several French royal inventories. The attribution is supported by the similarity of design to other mid-thirteenth century objects ascribed to Paris, a preeminent center of goldsmithing and carved crystal work.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art