Pilgrim Flask with the Corpus Christi

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This vessel resembles a pilgrim’s bottle, with loops on its shoulders for attachment to a cord or strap. Exceptionally, however, a hollow, free-blown image of Jesus crucified (Corpus Christi) is attached to the flask. His body could thus be filled with wine or any other liquid poured into the bottle. The function of this unusual glass is not known. Could it have been used in church celebrations of the Feast of Corpus Christi?

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