Covered Beaker

Covered Beaker

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Hard-stone vessels such as this twelve-sided rock crystal example are among the most treasured products of the Middle Ages. This beaker was likely produced in Venice, known as an import center for the cutting and polishing of rock crystal. The silver-gilt mounts, however, compare closely with pieces produced in Vienna. The silver is inscribed in verse around the base in a German dialect: WER/HIE•V/•DR/INCE/ET•W/INDE/R•MV/EZZ/E•IEM/ER•S/ELIG/SIN (He who drinks wine from me, ever shall happy be). That exhortation leaves little doubt that this vessel was intended for secular use.

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.