Six-Sided Box

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Small six-sided boxes such as this one, with millefiore enamel, have been found all over Europe, including Germany, Poland, and the Ukraine. In this technique, the artist fuses together glass rods of different colors. The multicolored rods are then cut into cross-sections, which are placed in a metal base and heated sufficiently for them to adhere. The result is intricate pattern of flowers and checkerboards.

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