Coffret

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Throughout the Middle Ages, household goods of all types were stored in boxes and coffrets which both protected the goods in the home and provided traveling cases on journeys. The great number of these of all sizes, shapes, and materials that have survived from the medieval period testify to this method of storage. This small container may have been intended to hold rings, ring brooches, and other jewels or trinkets. The leather coffret, with a domed lid, has the inscription EINSE MOY, which might be translated as “follow me” or “do as i do,” probably a personal motto. Unfortunately, this inscription does not provide a clue to the specific use for which the container was intended.

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