Brooch in Form of a Bird of Prey

Brooch in Form of a Bird of Prey

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The head and right leg of this elegant bird brooch are in left profile, while its rounded body and flaring tail are presented frontally. The extended right wing curves behind the tail. The edges of the neck, wings, and tail, and the upper part of the leg are outlined with pseudobeading. Nine stamped (punched?) crayfish decorate the tail. The position of the head, supported by the raised leg, indicates that the bird is sleeping.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Brooch in Form of a Bird of PreyBrooch in Form of a Bird of PreyBrooch in Form of a Bird of PreyBrooch in Form of a Bird of PreyBrooch in Form of a Bird of Prey

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.