Reliquary

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The core of this opulent reliquary contains a large late twelfth-century rock crystal with engraved vine scroll patterns from the Meuse Valley (present-day Belgium). It was said to have once held relics of Saints Margaret, Philip the Apostle, and Catherine as well as of Bishop Valerius. The present neo-Gothic setting may reflect the original reliquary form.

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