Band Fragment with Masks, Lotus Flowers, and Birds

Band Fragment with Masks, Lotus Flowers, and Birds

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Lotus blossoms, a decorative element frequently encountered on textiles found in Egypt, are combined with stylized heads reminiscent of theater masks-a motif known in Greco-Roman and Sasanian art. The polychrome examples seen here also incorporate flying birds. Each band is finished with a running wave border. Art of the early Byzantine period often marries busts or heads, sometimes personifying the seasons or the earth, with images of abundance, such as fruits, flowers, or animals. These images were intended to protect the wearer and to attract good fortune and prosperity.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Band Fragment with Masks, Lotus Flowers, and BirdsBand Fragment with Masks, Lotus Flowers, and BirdsBand Fragment with Masks, Lotus Flowers, and BirdsBand Fragment with Masks, Lotus Flowers, and BirdsBand Fragment with Masks, Lotus Flowers, and Birds

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.