Plaque with Christ Before the High Priest Caiaphas

Plaque with Christ Before the High Priest Caiaphas

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Originally thought to be the missing base plaque of The Cloisters cross, this ivory is one of its closest surviving parallels. Within the city walls of Jerusalem, the bound figure of Christ is brought before the High Priest Caiaphas for trial. The shallow relief space and sketchy, less decisive figures differentiate its carving from that of the cross. It must have originally been part of a large narrative cycle dedicated to the Life of Christ.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Plaque with Christ Before the High Priest CaiaphasPlaque with Christ Before the High Priest CaiaphasPlaque with Christ Before the High Priest CaiaphasPlaque with Christ Before the High Priest CaiaphasPlaque with Christ Before the High Priest Caiaphas

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.