Cistern

Cistern

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Similar lead cisterns have been found in churches in the region of Toulouse, where they were placed on stone columns and used as fonts for the water used in baptism. The two bands of decoration are filled with lions, accompanied by fantastic creatures: griffins, centaurs, and dragons.


Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

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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.