Censer with a Lioness Hunting a Boar

Censer with a Lioness Hunting a Boar

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Discovered hidden in a rock crevice, this censer was cast so that the smoke of the incense would emerge through the mouths and ears of the lioness and boar. An elephant worked in relief, rather than a Christian symbol, appears on its front.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Censer with a Lioness Hunting a BoarCenser with a Lioness Hunting a BoarCenser with a Lioness Hunting a BoarCenser with a Lioness Hunting a BoarCenser with a Lioness Hunting a Boar

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.