Beaker (Krautstrunk)

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This ordinary drinking vessel is decorated with applied drops of glass drawn into points, or prunts. The adornments give the beaker its name: Krautstrunk, a German word meaning "cabbage stalk." Although primarily decorative, the prunts also gave the drinker a surer grip on the vessel, which was heavy when filled.

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