Covered Beaker

Covered Beaker

Hans Greiff

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This lavish silver beaker from the medieval town hall of Ingolstadt, in Bavaria, bear clear witness to the prosperity of the city and its residents, above all the fraternal members of the town council. The town hall boasted a treasury full of silver, and an on-site pub or "Trinkstube," in addition to its predicable tall towers and a fine clock. Tiny bunches of grapes, fashioned from green and red glass beads, peek out from the vine tendrils at the base, quietly proclaiming this to be a vessel for wine. Hirsute wildmen supporting the base hint at a party atmosphere. The engraved hunting scene on the exterior, complete with unicorn, is not original.

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.