
Chalice of Peter of Sassoferrato
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
This opulent chalice, with richly colored and exquisitely drawn enamels, represents the Crucifixion, the Virgin, and Saints John the Evangelist, Louis of Toulouse, John the Baptist, and Anthony of Padua (?). Seraphim decorate the spandrels and collar above. On the knop are Saints Michael, Francis, Mary Magdalene (?), Catherine of Alexandria (?), and Elizabeth of Hungary (?). The inscription refers to the donor, Brother Peter of the Penitentiary, and the town of Sassoferrato in Umbria (Marche) and warns that the chalice should not be sold or destroyed. Brother Peter was appointed to the Sacred Order of the Penitentiary by Pope Benedict XII in December 1341. The cup is a replacement, perhaps of the fifteenth century.
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.