
Matrices
An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art
The European-style matrices carved on this stone are thought to have been used for the decoration of Crusader gear made of hardened leather (cuir-boille) or gesso. They may have decorated ailettes, small shields worn on the shoulders by Crusaders. The two elegant fish are mullet, Mullus barbatus.
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.