Unicorns at the Fountain

Unicorns at the Fountain

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Among the special powers attributed to the unicorn is its ability to purify water. How appropriate, therefore, that on this delicately woven and colored band, the magical beasts appear in pairs repeatedly at either side of a fountain, gently dipping their horns into the cascading water. One of the hangings in The Cloisters’ Unicorn Tapestries Room shows the unicorn similarly posed. There, animals gather from far and wide to drink, despite the ominous presence of hunters.

European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Unicorns at the FountainUnicorns at the FountainUnicorns at the FountainUnicorns at the FountainUnicorns at the Fountain

The fifty thousand objects in the Museum's comprehensive and historically important collection of European sculpture and decorative arts reflect the development of a number of art forms in Western European countries from the early fifteenth through the early twentieth century. The holdings include sculpture in many sizes and media, woodwork and furniture, ceramics and glass, metalwork and jewelry, horological and mathematical instruments, and tapestries and textiles. Ceramics made in Asia for export to European markets and sculpture and decorative arts produced in Latin America during this period are also included among these works.