The Falcon's Bath

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This recently discovered tapestry depicting courtly figures training a falcon is in remarkably good condition. At the center of the tapestry, four luxuriously dressed figures are gathered in front of a rose trellis and flowering turf bench. The lady and the gentleman in the foreground, attended by courtiers behind them, are encouraging the falcon to bathe in the basin of water between them. Four additional figures at the corners, set against a flowering, or millefleurs ground, are also busy training falcons.

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