Fragment of Wall Hanging with confronted cocks and running dogs

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This elaborately woven band was probably originally part of a large wall hanging for a domestic setting covering a door or decorating a wall. All the motifs related to the pleasures of the elite on their country estates. The large cocks confront each other across a large cluster of grapes with grape leaves by their feet. The detailed spurs on their claws suggest they were used for sport. Above their backs are hunting dogs.

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