The Met Cloisters

Shaped like a miniature chapel, this incredibly rare reliquary shrine is one of the jewels of #TheMetCloisters. On October 30, 1940, eighty years ago this week, the Nazi regime began the systematic plunder of thousands of artworks from Jewish families in France. Hermann Göring, a leading Nazi official during World War II, stole this reliquary from the Paris residence of Edmond de Rothschild for his private collection filled with artworks he unlawfully seized. Thankfully, mon...uments men, dispatched by the U.S. and British governments for the first time in the history of warfare to restitute works of art to their rightful owners, located the shrine at the war’s end and returned it to Edmond de Rothschild’s heirs on June 3, 1948. Come see it in the @metmuseum 150th anniversary exhibition, Making The Met, through January 3, 2021 alongside other works in the Museum’s collection associated with World War II. Attributed to Jean de Touyl (French, died 1349/50). Reliquary Shrine, ca. 132550. Gilded silver, translucent enamel, paint. 62.96. #MetAnywhere #MakingTheMet #Met150 #MedievalArt #WWII [image descriptions: Slides 1 and 2 are studio photographs of the reliquary front and back, respectively. It sits against a soft gray backdrop with the wings open to show the interior of the chapel. The Virgin and Child are accompanied by angels in the central "building" with gilded arches, vaults, and other architectural elements. The wings are of translucent enamel, depicting Mary's life and the Infancy of Christ and evoking stained glass. Slides 3 and 4 show the reliquary, along with other objects, installed in Making The Met.]

Tune in Saturday, October 24th at 10 am Eastern to learn about behind-the-scenes activities that close out our growing season and pave the way for next year's bounty and display. Horticultural staff will walk us through the importance of the harvest season, bulb planting and propagation for spring, and the time-intensive holiday decorations they create and display in our galleries at the close of the calendar year. Above: Delicious and bountiful during the fall harvest, grape...s like the ones grown in our courtyard were transformed into wine, an important beverage in the Middle Ages which was regularly consumed and enjoyed. Check our link in bio to visit the event page for more information and direct links to YouTube and Facebook. #Horticulture #MedievalGardening #Harvest #Holidays [image description: A photo of the concord grapes growing at The Met Cloisters. These pale green grapes hang in full bunches from twisting vines with broad, dark green leaves, against the stone of the Museum facade.]

#TheMetCloisters is proud to announce the completion of a book on The Conservation of Medieval Polychrome Wood Sculpture. With this publication, Met conservator Lucretia Kargère and professor Michele Marincola from the @nyuifa Conservation Center (and former @metobjectsconservation staff member) fill a gap in the conservation literature, which has no comprehensive English-language reference. A real challenge in creating this publication was distilling an enormous body of lite...rature, mostly in four languages, on the materials and methods of medieval polychrome wood sculptures, and their treatment. The authors conducted research and interviews with conservators in America and Europe and incorporated their own experience at The Met Cloisters in examining and conserving polychrome wood sculpture. Rather than being a recipe book, the volume provides access to the decision-making processes, the history of care, the scientific rational, and the types of materials and treatments that might be appropriate today. Many images from The Cloisters Collection are included, and four case studies illustrate key moments in a sculpture’s treatment history reconsidered in the light of current practices. Those interested may find the book at the Getty store website. #Polychrome #WoodSculpture #ObjectConservation Tilman Riemenschneider (German, 14601531). Seated Bishop, ca. 1495. Limewood and gray-black stain. 1970.137.1. Enthroned Virgin and Child, France, ca. 11301140. Birch with paint and glass. 47.101.15. [image descriptions: Slide 1, the cover of The Conservation of Medieval Polychrome Wood featuring The Visitation from the Medieval Department collection at The Met, a painted and gilded wood sculpture of Mary and Elizabeth that was highlighted in a collections post just last week. Slide 2, the Seated Bishop from The Cloisters Collection during treatment circa 1970, halfway through the removal of a more modern coat of paint. Slides 3 and 4, detail of Mary's face from The Enthroned Virgin and Child, another piece from The Cloisters Collection, before and after treatment respectively. Treatment included compensation of crack and remodeling of proper left eye.]

The top of this block of limestone was transformed into a four-sided capital in southern Italy by a skilled stone carver working in the first part of the 13th century. Its sides evoke an era in which different cultures mingled together in trade, travel, and conflict. In 863 a monk named Theodosius wrote of the grandeur of Palermo, describing it as full of citizens and strangers. . . . Blended with the Sicilians the Greeks, the Lombards and the Jews, there are Arabs, Berbers,... Persians, Tartars, Africans, some wrapped in long robes and turbans . . . faces oval, square, or round, of every complexion and profile, beards and hair of every variety of color and cut. The four heads emerging from acanthus leaves to form the corners of this capital attest to Theodosius’ comments. The heads are close in style to other examples by Apulian sculptors working for the court of Frederick II Hohenstaufen. #MetAnywhere #TheMetCloisters #MedievalSculpture #GlobalMiddleAges Capital with Four Heads, Italy, ca. 1225-50. Limestone. 55.66. [image descriptions: Five photos show the capital, the top portion of a column, at various angles. We start with the top of the limestone capital, bare except for a groove that sections off one quarter of the square plane. The subsequent photos of the the four subjects carved into the corners of this capital show a diversity of features, ages, and dress.]

The meeting of two women, their torsos fitted with rock-crystal cabochons, is the central subject of a profoundly moving devotional statue. The sculpture was originally made for a community of women at the Convent of Saint Katharinenthal, Lake Constance. Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist and cousin to Mary, meets Mary, mother of Jesus, and they share the news of their pregnancy. Mary tenderly places her hand on Elizabeth’s shoulder, while Elizabeth, touching her chest..., exclaims, Who am I, that the mother of the Lord should visit me? (Luke 1:43). The text of Elizabeth’s statement adorns the hem that unfurls over her left shoulder. #MetAnywhere #visitation #women #cousins #MedievalArt #MedievalSculpture #polychrome #wood #meeting #pregnancy Attributed to Master Heinrich of Constance (German, active in Constance, ca. 1300), ca. 131020. The Visitation. Walnut, paint, gilding, rock-crystal cabochons inset in gilt-silver mounts. 17.190.724. [image descriptions: Two figures, carved from wood, stand at a little over 23 inches high. They are dressed in flowing, gilded robes, their hair covered by draping, ivory scarves, all with painted and gilded geometric patterns at the hems. Large, rock-crystal cabochons (polished and rounded gems with a flat back, as opposed to faceted gems) adorn each of their torsos. Mary and Elizabeth look at each other with kindly expressions and smiling eyes. Their faces are painted in soft pinks. Slides 1 and 2 show the full-length of the figures from front and back, slides 3 and 4 are close-ups of the women's faces, and slide 5 is a detail of the hem of Elizabeth's garment draped across her chest and shoulder with the text of her exclamation.]