Earring

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This earring is said to be from the ancient city of Olbia, long a colonial trading post of the ancient Greeks on the northern coast of the Black Sea. At the time these earrings were made, Olbia's local inhabitants—Greeks, Scythians, and Sarmatians—were flush with gold and silver received from the Romans in exchange for local goods, such as salt and grain.

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