Amatory Brooch

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In terms of its function, decoration, and inscription, this intimate piece of jewelry conveys the chivalric ideal of love. Made in the shape of the letter E, the brooch has a hinged cover that allowed it to function as a locket. The cover bears the figure of a man holding arrows aimed at his heart, while the interior inscription (in a Saxon dialect?) reads: • V/REWELININ • VRME DEI + HRZE • LEVE• /NSTE • MOIS IC IN • /•SIN (Fair lady, may I always remain close to your heart.)

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