Virgin and Child

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Through the course of the thirteenth century, goldsmiths in Limoges increasingly specialized in the creation of gilded copper sculpture—freestanding, as here, or in relief, with enamel used only as a decorative accent. As Queen of Heaven, the Virgin Mary wears a crown (as does the infant Jesus), richly decorated shoes, a cloak engraved with a fur pattern, and a delicate filigree brooch. The inscription across the front of the statuette reads, in translation, “Hail Mary, full of grace.” This is more than a devotional image: with a hinged compartment set in the back of the throne, this Virgin and Child served as a tabernacle to safeguard the host, the wafer of bread consecrated during the mass as the body of Christ. An enameled image of Saint Peter, holding keys, stands guard at the door.

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