Game Piece with Samson Slaying the Philistines with the Jawbone of an Ass

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The treatise written for craftsmen by the early-twelfth-century monk Theophilus recommends using the red root of the madder plant to stain ivory. Staining allowed one side to be easily distinguished from the other, which was often left unpainted.

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