Neck Ring

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This piece testifies to the willingness of Celtic craftsmen to experiment with the form and decoration of the neck ring. With elegant simplicity, it brings together the abstract geometric designs of northern metalwork and the curvilinear motifs of a Mediterranean aesthetic. Flat in section, the neck ring is decorated with an incised geometric pattern of zigzags and punched dots that includes a motif reminiscent of sunbursts. Its "swan's neck" terminals, which fold back on themselves, are incised with a motif derived from the classical Greek palmette.

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