Plaque with Moses, Aaron, and the Brazen Serpent

Plaque with Moses, Aaron, and the Brazen Serpent

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Book of Numbers describes a Brazen (brass) Serpent that Moses, following God’s instructions, set on a column, the sight of which would heal the children of Israel. Christians considered it a prototype of Jesus on the cross.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Plaque with Moses, Aaron, and the Brazen SerpentPlaque with Moses, Aaron, and the Brazen SerpentPlaque with Moses, Aaron, and the Brazen SerpentPlaque with Moses, Aaron, and the Brazen SerpentPlaque with Moses, Aaron, and the Brazen Serpent

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.