Quadruped (one of five medallions from a coffret)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The blue and green beasts, locked in battle and compressed into these circular medallions, are emblematic of goldsmiths’ work created at Conques under the patronage of Abbot Boniface (r. 1107–after 1121). On a similar box still at Conques, an inscription proudly proclaims: “In all respects, the coffrets of Conques demonstrate brilliant workmanship.”

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