Crucified Christ

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This is one of the finest surviving medieval images in ivory of the crucified Christ. It is extraordinary in its monumental character and the sensitive rendering of the human body. Stylistically, it accords well with works produced in Paris around 1300, during the reign of King Philip the Fair (r. 1285–1314), but the use of walrus ivory suggests that the sculpture was carved by a Parisian artist (or one who had trained in the French capital) active in England, Scandinavia, or Cologne, where walrus ivory was more readily available than costly elephant tusks.

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