Bifolium with Christ in Majesty in an Initial A, from an Antiphonary

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

With rich color and gold, this leaf from a choir book joins majesty and mystery with a sense of playfulness. The letter A becomes a throne for Christ, robed in silks, as he sits before a cloth of gold held by barely perceptible crimson angels. Meanwhile, in the margins, a gentle black bear perches on a vine; nearby is a lizard and a hunter aiming his arrow at a crane. This was the first page of a richly decorated book of hymns. The text set to music here was sung on the first Sunday of Advent, the season preceding Christmas. The kneeling abbot was added later, obscuring the image of the original, unknown donor underneath.

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