Jug with Applied decoration

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In crafting this jug, the potter addressed both practical and aesthetic needs. The maker’s thumbmarks, in five places around the base, ensure stability. A low center of gravity, which keeps the vessel from tipping, is visually counterbalanced by a high arched handle. The tapering body, from the shoulder up to the neck, is decorated with applied vertical strips, alternating straight and green with red and waving.

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