Manuscript Leaf with the Initial V, from an Antiphonary

Manuscript Leaf with the Initial V, from an Antiphonary

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The decoration of the initial and the scrolling floral ornament correspond to examples found in a model book for artists preserved today in Göttingen, Germany. In addition to providing samples of ornament, the text offers practical advice to artists, including the use of bits of old rye bread to clean the parchment.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuscript Leaf with the Initial V, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with the Initial V, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with the Initial V, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with the Initial V, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with the Initial V, from an Antiphonary

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.