Lectern in the Form of an Eagle

Lectern in the Form of an Eagle

Jehan Aert van Tricht

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Atop this large lectern, which was used for reading from the Gospels, is an impressive eagle, symbol of Saint John the Evangelist, perched with a dragon beneath its talon. A complex object assembled from many separately cast parts, the lectern is supported by three lion feet and embellished with figures of the Magi, Christ, Saint Peter, Saint Barbara, and Old Testament prophets. In the nineteenth century, John Talbot, sixteenth earl of Shrewsbury, donated the lectern to the cathedral of Saint Chad in Birmingham, England, designed by the renowned Gothic revival architect A.W.N. Pugin (1812-1852). The figures of Saint Barbara and the first Magus are nineteenth-century replacements, dating from the time of Pugin's involvement with the lectern.

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.