Tracery Arcade from the Great South Window of Canterbury Cathedral

Tracery Arcade from the Great South Window of Canterbury Cathedral

Master Mason Stephen Lote

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

These fragments once outlined a panel of stained glass in the "Great South Window" of the south transept of Canterbury Cathedral. Consistent with medieval practice, the two sides of the arch were carved in distinct though complementary ways. The side facing the interior of the church consists of three undulating courses of molding. The exterior, which exhibits the stress and repairs expected from centuries of exposure to the elements, displays a simpler faceted molding. Various marks related to construction appear on the ends of stone that are now exposed. These range from simple incisions to a mason’s mark in the shape of a cross.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Tracery Arcade from the Great South Window of Canterbury CathedralTracery Arcade from the Great South Window of Canterbury CathedralTracery Arcade from the Great South Window of Canterbury CathedralTracery Arcade from the Great South Window of Canterbury CathedralTracery Arcade from the Great South Window of Canterbury Cathedral

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.