Medallion with the Betrayal of Jesus

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This medallion serves as a reminder that one of the most important skills of miniature boxwood carvers was their ability to create deep, stagelike spaces for the reenactment of the drama of the Bible. In this carving, the action is intense, but the faces are summarily rendered in some areas. Were elements such as these perhaps consigned to apprentices?

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