Ostrakon

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Pottery fragments with ink inscriptions are called Ostraka. Written in Greek, ostraka represent a Hellenized and elite Christian community in Kharga. This wooden tablet contains a Homeric reference from the Iliad on one side: The tutor of Achilles, Phoinix, and a Trojan archer, Pandaros, are both mentioned. Although the line is fragmentary, these characters are in books 9 and 4 of the Iliad, respectively. A school text on the other side, which suggests that the tablet was used to practice and teach Greek grammar.

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