Plaque from a Portable Altar with Scenes from the Life of Jesus

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Abbreviated Latin inscriptions identify each scene. Reading clockwise from the lower left, they include scenes from both the Christmas and Easter stories. Portable altars were carried by priests when traveling and when attending the sick.

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