Hanging Lamp with a Hand Holding a Cross

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The flowerlike terminals of the lamp arms held glass vessels full of oil. The hand was probably an offering for a cure as suggested by the large Greek inscription on the cross, “Christ help [me],” and by the inclusion of healing saints. “Saints Kosmas and Damianos be praised” is inscribed over the twin medical saints whose medical kits are at the base. The other figures are Saint Stephen at the center, flanked by Saints Paul (left) and Peter (right), with the Virgin and Child enthroned above.

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.

Metropolitan Museum of Art