Double Capital with Masks and Birds

Double Capital with Masks and Birds

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The medieval sculptor transformed a Corinthian capital, substituting a head for the rosette that would have appeared at the center. On one side, it is the head of a man; on the other, a monkey: perhaps a warning of how easy it is to slide from humanity to bestiality.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Double Capital with Masks and BirdsDouble Capital with Masks and BirdsDouble Capital with Masks and BirdsDouble Capital with Masks and BirdsDouble Capital with Masks and Birds

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.