Fragment of a Stela

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

In his left hand, the man holds an ancient Egyptian musical instrument called a sistrum. At his side is a vine and above his shoulder is a small hawk standing on an altar. The painting is done in two shades of purple (darker possibly originally black) on a white plaster background. This piece might be a re-used panel from a Roman-Egyptian coffin. The motifs on the panel, the hawk and sistrum, were used in the ancient Egyptian religion. The panel was sawed down the middle before being put in burial chamber, and the left side was never recovered. The re-use of the traditional Egyptian objects in Christian contexts was a popular practice in the Late Antique/Byzantine period in Egypt.

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