Upper Leaf of Sundial

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This plaque formed the top half of a folding portable sundial, a type of timepiece made exclusively in Nuremberg at the beginning of the 16th century. The carving on the outside is probably based on a German print. Children's games such as this were often associated with the passage of time, the seasons and the weather.

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