Manuscript Leaf with Foliated Initial P, from an Antiphonary

Manuscript Leaf with Foliated Initial P, from an Antiphonary

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The opening letter of a chant is the equivalent of the beginning of a new chapter in a book. It is, therefore, enlarged and decorated to give it prominence. Here, the initial P comes alive with vines and a doglike creature twisting around the upright of the letter and spewing red into the middle.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuscript Leaf with Foliated Initial P, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with Foliated Initial P, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with Foliated Initial P, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with Foliated Initial P, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with Foliated Initial P, from an Antiphonary

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.