Plaque with Censing Angels

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This enameled plaque originally crowned the top of a large, double-sided altar cross. With chalk-white faces and deep brows, the angels mournfully bear witness to the Crucifixion of Jesus. Their censers proclaim his death and allude to the consecration of bread into Christ's body, since incense was burned both at funerals and during Mass. The balanced, elegiac composition, the richness of the colors, and the refinement of the vermiculé background distinguish this object as one of the highest achievements of Limoges enamellers, renowned throughout medieval Europe.

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