Plaque with Marking of the Door with the Letter Tau

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The image here had its origin in the Passover, when Moses ordered the elders of Israel to mark the houses of the Israelites with the blood of a slain lamb to protect their households. For Christians, the tau came to be seen as an emblem of God's protection. In the enamel, the mark is placed on a building resembling a medieval church, with a prominent cross on the roof.

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