Virgin and Child

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This statuette is one of the most elegant images of the Virgin and Child produced in fourteenth-century France. The fine details of the carving as well as of the original gilding make this a most precious document of sculptural style associated with contemporary court patronage. This work may have been the gift of Jeanne d'Evreux (d. 1371), queen of France, to the Cistercian convent of Pont-aux-Dames, located near one of the royal chateaux. The original gilt metal crown is now lost, which explains the smooth rounded surface at the top of the virgin’s head. The eucharistic pyx, held in the Virgin’s right hand and blessed by the Christ Child, prefigures the Passion.

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