Datasets:

shaamil101
/

met-documents

Dataset card Data Studio Files Files and versions Community

Split (1)

train · 35.2k rows

filename stringlengths 6 15	content stringlengths 62 21.5k
5751.txt	Pitcher American 1870–90 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
6258.txt	Plate Chinese, for American market 1785–90 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 This object belongs to a large dinner service (10.149.1–.248) bearing the Townley family coat-of-arms. The service, probably ordered by Justice Samuel Chase (1741–1811) of Annapolis, Maryland, displays the enamel-painted arms of Margaret Townley, Chase's aunt. View more
470998.txt	Double capital French late 13th–early 14th century On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 12 View more
13070.txt	The Pleiades Elihu Vedder American 1885 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 773 According to Greek mythology, the Pleiades were the seven daughters of Atlas and the nymph Pleione. Vedder first depicted the subject in his landmark artist’s book, “Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám” (1884), for which he produced fifty-six full-page visual “accompaniments” for Edward FitzGerald’s translation of the twelfth-century text. Linked to quatrains thirty-four through thirty-six, the figures in “The Pleiades” symbolically represent the horoscope of the astronomer-poet Khayyam—as the stars under whose ascendency he was born. Together they hold aloft a thread of light from which six stars glow; a seventh has escaped from a break in the thread. Vedder returned often to his “Rubáiyát” imagery for creative inspiration, producing related decorative designs and oil paintings including this work and its preparatory studies. View more
553833.txt	Kohl jar decorated wtih Horus falcon and grotesque figure New Kingdom ca. 1550–1295 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 117 View more
466122.txt	Terracotta Tomb Plaque Spanish 400–800 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301 This plaque is thought to be a cover for a niche in a columbarium, or communal tomb. The Christogram--the monogram for Christ's name formed from the first two letters of his name in Greek (x and p), identifies the deceased as Christian. Scholars debate the meaning of the inscription in Latin, which may be a prayer for the deceased. View more
438738.txt	Haystacks, Morning, Eragny Camille Pissarro French 1899 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 820 Made the same year as Pissarro’s bird’s-eye views of the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris, this idyllic scene of a meadow near the artist’s home in rural Eragny is a counterpoint to his paintings of modern urban life. Pissarro depicted the same trio of haystacks, seen from a slightly different vantage point, and under afternoon rather than morning light (private collection), a practice recalling Monet’s Haystacks series of the early 1890s. View more
1537.txt	Chafing Dish Peter Van Dyck American ca. 1725 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 750 Originally a continental form, the silver chafing dish appeared in England by the fifteenth century. These vessels were more frequently made in copper, brass, iron, or pewter than in silver. Consisting of a pierced bowl with a removable grate, three scrolled knops to support a plate or bowl, and a wood baluster-form handle, the standard eighteenth-century model was fueled by hot coals. The initials “S” over “I S” engraved beneath this chafing dish are those of the original owners, John Schuyler (1705–1773) and his first wife, Sara Walter (1704–1734), who were married on January 20, 1729. View more
470740.txt	Pier Catalan ca. 1130–40 On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 07 View more
460553.txt	Cassetta frame Italian ca. 1870, style early 17th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 962 View more
24804.txt	Powder Horn American, Fort Ticonderoga, New York dated 1760 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 372 This powder horn is engraved with views of Fort Ticonderoga, New York, and the name of the owner, Amos Powers. View more
7146.txt	Sauce Dish Boston & Sandwich Glass Company American before 1867 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
544397.txt	Scarab of king's son Sobekhotep Middle Kingdom–Second Intermediate Period ca. 1802–1575 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 109 View more
451956.txt	"Siege of Baghdad", Folio from a Dispersed copy of the Zafarnama (Book of Victory) of Sharaf al-din 'Ali Yazdi Author Sharaf al-din 'Ali Yazdi Iranian Calligrapher Ya'qub ibn Hasan, known as Siraj al-Husaini Unknown Dhu'l Hijja 839 AH/June–July 1436 CE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 455 This folio once illustrated a manuscript of the Zafarnama, a biography of the ruler Timur commissioned by his grandson Ibrahim Sultan. The text glorifies Timur’s many victories on the battlefield, including his 1401 siege of Baghdad, depicted here. In the painting residents of the city attempt to flee by swimming across the Tigris. The distinctively spare yet highly animated angular compositions are characteristic of manuscript painting produced in Shiraz in this period. View more
814897.txt	Goddess Tripurasundari Nepal Early 20th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 252 Parvati, the consort of the Hindu deity Shiva, can assume many forms. Her most prolific manifestation is as the supreme goddess Durga, who was empowered by the male gods to defeat the demonic forces at large in the world. Here we see Parvati appearing in a five-faced and ten-armed form as the goddess Tripurasundari, also referred to as Purnacandi in Nepal. This form embodies the power of the goddess as the conqueror of evil. She is flanked in the framing registers by depictions of the Mother Goddesses (matrikas), who may also be understood in Nepal as aspects of Durga, the navadurgas View more
460235.txt	Plate (tondino) probably workshop of Maestro Giorgio Andreoli Italian 1519 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 950 View more
7620.txt	Soup Bowl Union Porcelain Works American 1885 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 Union Porcelain Works was one of the most important and inventive American porcelain manufacturers in the second-half of the nineteenth century. In addition to their imaginative works designed by the German-born artistic director, Karl H. L. Müller, the firm’s mainstay was the production of heavy porcelain hotel dinnerware. This extensive service was made by Thomas Carll Smith, head of the Union Porcelain Works, as a gift to his daughter, Pastora Forest Smith Chace. The neoclassical decoration of the gilt bellflower and basket motif is complimented by turquoise enamel. Unlike the firm’s more eccentric and lavish designs created for their display at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876, the pottery favored a more restrained classical style for their dinner services. This service descended in the Chace family. View more
641257.txt	Head of Christ Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina Spanish ca. 1506 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 611 The mesmerizing expression and distant gaze of Jesus would have made this a particularly effective painting for private devotion. Yáñez spent time in Italy, where he worked with Leonardo da Vinci, returning to his native Spain in 1506. The delicate play of light across the face and the description of the curling hair and beard reflect that experience, while the emphasis on gold ornamentation is more typically Spanish. The frame is of the period and Spanish but not original to the picture; it creates the effect of a window onto a sacred realm. View more
8513.txt	Tile J. and J. G. Low Art Tile Works American 1882–84 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
503962.txt	Trompette Demilune German ca. 1810 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 680 The curved form of this natural trumpet enabled the player to insert fingers into the bell and, by closing it off to varying degrees, alter the notes of the harmonic series to produce a scale. This stopping technique is similar to that used by hand horn players, but the smaller size of the trumpet’s bell made it less effective. View more Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story # 0:00 RW Skip backwards ten seconds. FW Skip forwards ten seconds. 0:00 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. Here is a link to download the audio instead. View Transcript
545937.txt	Bust of King Amenemhat III Middle Kingdom ca. 1859–1813 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 111 Close stylistic parallels to this bust were found at Karnak. Following the lead of these comparative pieces, one can reconstruct the complete work: the king would have been shown with his arms stretched forward and his hands flat on the starched front of his ceremonial kilt. The traditional gesture of prayer was directed in this case to the god Amun, lord of the Karnak temple. It is instructive to compare the warm and assured style of this Karnak image of Amenemhat III with the much harsher features of the sphinx of Senwosret III (from the same site) farther on the right. Egyptian art changed considerably in the course of a single generation. View more
252962.txt	Terracotta squat lekythos (oil flask) Attributed to the Group of New York 28.57.10 ca. 340–320 BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 161 Woman with attendant, youths, and Erotes The scene has been interpreted as depicting a bride seated between the groom and the servant with a parasol, as Erotes hover above. View more
458972.txt	Madonna and Child with Saints Jerome and Agnes Giovanni di Paolo (Giovanni di Paolo di Grazia) Italian ca. 1465 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 956 View more
1251.txt	Candlestick 1800–1900 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
552293.txt	Sacred animal mummy of an ibis inside a jar Late Period–Roman Period ca. 400 B.C.–100 A.D. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 134 Animal cults The Egyptians considered certain individual animals to be living manifestations of a god, such as, since earliest times, the Apis bull. Those individuals were duly mummifed when they died and buried for eternal life, then replaced by another single living manifestation. During the first millennium BC, many multiples of animals associated with certain gods were specially raised in temple precincts as simultaneous avatars of that god and then mummified in large contingents and deposited in catacombs for eternal life. The ancient perception of these multiples, the evolution of the practice in this direction, and variations within the practice are not easily accessible to us. But the hundreds of thousands of often elaborately prepared animal mummies found in catacombs and other locales testify to its ancient resonance. Animal mummies This jar contains an ibis mummy wrapped in linen. The lid, now open, was anciently replaced over the opening and sealed with lime plaster. This mummied creature was discovered with many others, some single burials, other group burials in large jars, in a concentration east of the processional way at Abydos. Most of the mummies in this concentration seem to have dated even to the Roman Period, although others nearby in the newly recognized north cemetery temple and catalcombs belong to the Ptolemaic Period. Animal mummies are generally envisioned as being offered to the corresponding god - for the ibis that would be Thoth. However, there are no known temples to the god Thoth at Abydos. On the other hand, Thoth was closely involved both in the confirmation of the king and in the justification and rebirth of the deceased king, so it has been suggested that ibises may have been offered in support of divine kingship, Abydos being the seat of the most ancient kings, and, in specific, of Osiris. View more
38593.txt	Head of Krishna (?) Thailand (Phetchabun Province) 7th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 246 The unusual faceted miter sitting high on the figure's forehead is a characteristic of sculptural production at the site of Si Thep, particularly in images of Krishna lifting up Mount Govardhana. Although this head shows affinities with pre-Angkor sculpture, the facial features, and especially the eyes, are linked more closely to the emerging Mon-Dvaravati style of Thailand. View more
698244.txt	3 Terracotta female figures Helladic, Mycenaean ca. 1400–1300 BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 151 These terracotta female figurines are referred to as phi (35.11.17-.18), tau (35.11.16), or psi figurines, for their resemblance in shape to those Greek letters. They generally wear a long, enveloping garment, perhaps a kind of robe. Their long hair is usually drawn back in a plait or "ponytail," with some loose locks over the forehead. Often, they are adorned with a polos, a tall headdress associated with divinities, and a necklace. The two phi-type figurines depicted here have circular bodies completely covered with painted wavy lines, perhaps indicating folds of drapery. Breasts are indicated, although the arms are little more than bulges hanging down at the sides. Their faces are typically pinched, with eyes applied as separate slips of clay. The tau-type figurine has the conventional hollow, columnar stem with the head rendered somewhat larger in proportion to the body. Characteristically, the figure is high waisted with arms, rendered as singly applied strips of clay, folded neatly over the breasts. Like the other two figurines, this one wears a long garment, only here it is simply decorated with two vertical lines down the front and back. The figurine's coiffure is particularly distinct, with a plait that is rendered over the top of the headdress and down the back of the neck. A fringe of hair peeks out from under the edge of an elaborately festooned polos. View more
767284.txt	Document Sealing With the Throne Name of Amenhotep III New Kingdom ca. 1390–1352 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 120 View more
196740.txt	Saint Vincent Ferrer (1350–1419) Spanish late 17th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 535 This Spanish Dominican (ca. 1350–1419), often depicted with wings, was known as "the Angel of Judgment." His charismatic preaching warned of the imminence of death and Judgment Day and urged repentance and penance. Ferrer converted many thousands of nonbelievers both within and outside Spain. View more
2758.txt	Cup American ca. 1850 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
246917.txt	Bronze handle of a patera (shallow saucepan) Roman 1st century CE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171 The finial in the form of a wolf's head is typical of Roman bronze vessels. View more
231547.txt	Case French, Paris 1767–71 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 545 The tooled leather box contains six couverts—the French term for two or more matched pieces of flatware—which in this instance each comprise a fork, spoon, and knife. Six identical couverts housed in a similar box are also in the Museum’s collection. It is not known for whom these thirty-six pieces of flatware were made because the coats of arms that decorated each fork, knife, and spoon have been erased. However, the two boxes are decorated on the lids with the Noailles arms, suggesting that a member of that distinguished aristocratic family owned the cutlery in the eighteenth century. The designs of the flatware are unusually elaborate and ambitious, especially in the use of openwork in the stems of the fork and spoon, and in the molded and chased decoration of the knife blades. The amount of work required by the complexity of the designs marks these as especially fine pieces of silver cutlery. The two sets date from the years 1767–71, but the designs of the fork, spoon, and knife closely resemble those of a gilt silver dessert service made in 1744 by the celebrated silversmith Thomas Germain (1673–1748). Germain’s designs were then copied twenty years later by his son, François-Thomas Germain, for a gold couvert that formed part of the celebrated service made by the latter for the Portuguese court. One of the many silversmiths who assisted Germain with the Portuguese commission was Louis-Joseph Lenhendrick, whose mark appears on the Museum’s flatware. As Lenhendrick had also been apprenticed to the elder Germain, he would have been well acquainted with the design of this couvert. View more
2980.txt	Curtain Knob American or British 1800–1900 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
561881.txt	Towel (?) Middle Kingdom ca. 1961–1917 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 106 View more
767290.txt	Document Sealing With the Throne Name of Amenhotep III New Kingdom ca. 1390–1352 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 120 View more
199467.txt	Teapot British, Staffordshire ca. 1750–55 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 510 View more Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story #407. Teapots 0:00 RW Skip backwards ten seconds. FW Skip forwards ten seconds. 0:00 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. Here is a link to download the audio instead. View Transcript
246903.txt	Bronze aryballos Roman 1st–2nd century CE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171 High shouldered, with short, narrow neck. View more
445089.txt	Panel 13th–14th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 454 There are three identical octagons with carved ivory inlay in the collection (07.236.72, 07.236.73 and 07.236.70), suggesting that they were originally part of a larger wooden ensemble. Vines emerge from the central triangular decorative element, breaking off with characteristic leaf designs and spiral buds. The design seems to push at the edges of the carved border adding to its vitality. View more
625909.txt	Worker Shabti of Nauny Third Intermediate Period ca. 1050 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 126 Almost 400 small funerary figures known as shabtis were found with Nauny’s burial. These can be seen as avatars, meant to carry out agricultural labor on Nauny’s behalf in the afterlife. Of the 393 shabtis discovered, 355 were workers like this one, and 37 were overseers (see for example <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/551114">30.3.28.3</a>). Based on other assemblages from this era, Nauny originally might have had a total of 365 workers, one for each day of the year. This mummiform figure holds a hoe in each hand and has a basket on its back. The inscription on the front of the body reads, "the Osiris Nauny, true of voice." This indicated that Nauny had been transformed through the process of mummification and identified with the principal god of the dead, and then had been judged to have led an ethical life. Nauny’s shabtis were divided between seven boxes. Five of these, with their shabtis, were given to The Met, while two were sent to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. View more
3452.txt	Drop-leaf Table Michael Allison American 1817 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
464047.txt	Crozier Head with Crucifixion, Virgin and Child, and Saint Denis French ca. 1350 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 306 This head of a bishop's staff bears two iconic images: on one side, a Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist; on the other, a standing Virgin and Child with a monastic donor kneeling before her and Saint Denis, the patron saint of France. View more
570740.txt	Cat Late Period–Ptolemaic Period 664–30 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 130 Bastet was a powerful goddess of Lower Egypt, one who was protective and could bring about great prosperity. In zoomorphic form, she was represented as a cat and cats were considered sacred to her. As a cat, she is poised and alert, on guard against external forces. Like cat-headed Bastet statuettes, these seated cats often have special adornments, but this figure is even more elaborate than most. It has deep-cut eyes for inlay and ears pierced for earrings, probably of precious metal. Incised decoration includes a scarab on the top of its head, a beaded collar, and a wedjet amulet hanging below the collar. The wedjet eye, or Eye of Horus, was personified by the goddess Wadjet, who was closely linked with Bastet as both goddesses were protectors of Lower Egypt. Cat statuettes like this one were among some of the most common zoomorphic dedications of the Late and Ptolemaic Periods. Small statuettes would have been dedicated as offerings to temples or deposited in catacombs alongside cat mummies, as at the extensive catacombs at Bubastis and Saqqara. Sometimes larger hollow examples held a cat mummy inside. View more
460221.txt	Large plate (grande piatto): An episode from the Sack of Rome, 1527: the assault on the Borgo (?) workshop of Guido Durantino Italian ca. 1540 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 950 View more
203287.txt	Beaker (one of a pair) Workshop of Charles Fromery German Possibly by Christian Friedrich Herold German or possibly by J. G. V. 1730–40 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 533 View more
909.txt	Box American ca. 1700 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
545923.txt	Foundation deposit brick with name of Ramesses II New Kingdom, Ramesside ca. 1279–1213 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 111 View more
437379.txt	Bouquet of Flowers Odilon Redon French ca. 1900–1905 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 813 As a young man, Redon was fascinated with Darwinian biology and enjoyed a close friendship with Armand Clavaud, the curator of the botanical gardens in his hometown of Bordeaux. In late floral still lifes such as this one, the artist demonstrated a naturalist’s sense of wonder as well as a richly inventive imagination, combining many different types of blooms and foliage in an effervescent display, attended by fluttering butterflies. The vase, which appears in a number of Redon's flower pictures, was made and presented to him by the ceramicist Marie Botkin around 1900. View more Buy a print Custom framed to suit your space
252976.txt	Terracotta bobbin Attributed to the Penthesilea Painter ca. 460–450 BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 157 One side, Nike (the personification of victory) offering fillet (band) to youth Other side, Eros and youth This object belongs to a group of roughly half a dozen pieces, all of the same construction and exceptionally fine quality but of undetermined function. The two most frequently advanced interpretations are that they served as bobbins or yo-yos. The shape lends itself to either purpose. The fragility of the material makes clear that they must have been dedications. Like the adjacent pyxis, this bobbin demonstrates the Penthesilea Painter's wonderful gift for color and composition. View more
1245.txt	Candlestick American ca. 1720 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
458966.txt	The Annunciation Sassetta (Stefano di Giovanni) Italian ca. 1435 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 956 The vase of lilies, prominently placed between the Angel Gabriel and the Virgin in this Annunciation scene, symbolizes both the Virgin’s purity as well as Christ’s Incarnation. The panel was originally part of the highly celebrated altarpiece that Sassetta, the renowned Sienese artist, painted between 1437 and 1444 for the Franciscan church of Borgo San Sepolcro in Arezzo. The Annunciation formed the central pinnacle on the back side of this multi-paneled, double-sided altarpiece. The panel has been the subject of considerable abrasion, repainting, and has been cut down in size. View more
461659.txt	Watchcase cover: Pomona and Vertumnus Suzanne de Court French first quarter 17th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 958 View more
1523.txt	Cellaret Attributed to Duncan Phyfe American, born Scotland 1800–1830 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
466136.txt	The Attarouthi Treasure - Chalice Byzantine 500–650 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300 With a youthful Christ with a cruciform halo, a deacon saint with censer (probably Saint Stephen), a youthful saint with staff, the Virgin Mary in orant pose, a military saint in armor killing a dragon (Saint George ?), and a long-haired Saint John the Forerunner, under arcades Inscribed in Greek: Of Saint Stephen of the village of Attaroutha An unusual aspect of these chalices is their repeated representation of military saints. The figures in armor killing a dragon may be the earliest surviving depictions of Saint George, who according to tradition was martyred in the eastern Mediterranean in the fourth century or earlier. View more
244872.txt	Chalcedony conoid seal Greek late 6th century BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171 Lion attacking bull. View more
24810.txt	Armet Italian ca. 1490 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 373 The term armet is generally used to denote a visored helmet of particular construction, one in which large cheekpieces are hinged to the base of the bowl just above the ears and close in front of the chin. The face opening is formed in the space between the rim of the bowl and the edges of the cheekpieces, an area closed and protected by a short, pointed visor hinged to pivots on either side of the bowl. The right side of the visor is pierced with a slot and holes for ventilation, and has a lifting peg. A cusped brow reinforce riveted to the front of the bowl, and a circular plate (rondel) attached by a short stem to the base of the bowl at the rear of the helmet are two other features common to the armet. Apart from the rondel and stem, which are restorations, this armet is entirely homogeneous. Its original appearance would have included a protective curtain-like mail fringe attached by rivets to the lowermost edge of the helmet, and several plates known as a bevor, or wrapper, which fit over the front of the armet to reinforce the lower face and neck regions. The bevor was attached by straps reaching around the armet and buckling at the back, just above the stem of the rondel which held the strap securely in place. The keyhole-shaped slot at the top of the comb originally held the support for a decorative or heraldic crest which once surmounted the helmet. The armet was the typical head piece of the fully armored equestrian knight throughout most of the fifteenth century, and its smooth, compact, rounded form typifies the streamlined appearance of fifteenth-century Italian armor in general. The armet's close-fitting form necessitated its highly practical and ingenious construction, with cheeckpieces hinged to the bowl that opened to admit the head. The vulnerable areas that resulted where plates overlapped, particularly at the front of the chin and along the edge of the visor (which, incidentally, was not fastened closed to the cheekpieces but was merely held down by its own weight), were protected by the addition of the bevor that fit over the lower front half of the helmet. The bevor also protected the front of the neck, which was otherwise covered by the collar of a mail shirt worn underneath the armor and by the mail fringe suspended from the edge of the armet. The ventilation holes in the visor are only on the right side, so that the more exposed left side, which usually bore the brunt of blows, was not weakened. Throughout its long use, the armet underwent gradual changes in design, and this particular example can be dated toward the end of this development, about 1490. Features which distinguish this armet as a late example include the pronounced comb; the large cusped brow reinforce which covers more than half the skull, its lower edges turned out to cover the hinges of the cheekpieces and its front edge turned out over the eyes; the shape of the visor; and the large inverted semicircular face opening. The pierced ventilation openings on the right side of the visor are unusual for Italian armets but are found on armets believed to be of Flemish origin and on a group of armets found in English churches, such as those at Beverley Minster, Yorkshire, at Isleham, Cambridgeshire, and Hawstead, Suffolk. Apart from the visors, these armets are so similar to their Italian counterparts that it is impossible to determine if they were made in Italy for export to the north, or if they were made locally in England or Flanders, closely copied from Italian models. View more
460547.txt	Diana possibly Haly workshop last half 18th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 951 View more
8261.txt	Tea Caddy Peter Van Dyck American 1725–40 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 704 View more
238577.txt	Christ the Redeemer Antonio Novelli Italian ca. 1650 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 550 The bust was probably originally placed high in a niche. Its provenance is from the Villa Camerata outside Florence, which had earlier belonged to the Verrazzano, Albizi and Pucci families. View more
3334.txt	Dish Chinese, for American market ca. 1860–66 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
250807.txt	Terracotta statuette of Eros on a boar Greek, South Italian 3rd century BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171 The playful style of this statuette, with the child appearing mischievous and the boar with his upturned nose, presents a sense of humor common in the Hellenistic period. View more
21968.txt	Wheellock Rifle Steel-chiseler Caspar Spät German Stock maker Elias Becker German ca. 1640–50 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 375 The dukes of Bavaria were enthusiastic collectors who assembled exotic objects and works of art in a special gallery called a Kunstkammer . In the capital city of Munich, they established various workshops where the most skillful artists and craftsmen produced art objects for the princely collection or for presentation to foreign dignitaries. Among the artists employed by the Munich court were the steel-chiselers Emanuel Sadeler (active 1594–1610), his brother Daniel (recorded 1602–32), and Caspar Spät (about 1611–1691). Unlike other artists decorating steel, the Munich masters did not depend on gold to produce stunning effect but used it mainly as a background to emphasize the ornament in blued steel chiseled in high relief. The subjects and patterns of decoration were usually inspired by mannerist designs produced by Flemish and French artists of the second half of the sixteenth century. Masters of carving and engraving on wood, ivory, and horn, such as Hieronymus Borstorffer (recorded 1597–1637) and Elias Becker (recorded 1633–74), were called upon to create embellished gunstocks of the highest quality to match the magnificent barrels and locks by the Sadelers and by Spät. View more
206499.txt	Drop-front desk (secrétaire à abattant or secrétaire en cabinet) Attributed to Martin Carlin French Manufactory Sèvres Manufactory French Central plaque decorated by Edme François Bouillat père French ca. 1776 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 529 Attributed to the cabinetmaker Martin Carlin, who was known for his graceful furniture mounted with Sevres porcelain, this exquisite two-piece desk was made about 1776. A date letter for that year is painted on the back of the central porcelain plaque, together with the mark of Edme-Francois Bouillat (1739/40–1810), a painter at the Sevres manufactory. A specialist in different kinds of floral ornament, Bouillat decorated the main plaque with a flower basket suspended from a large bowknot. The history of this secretary is well documented. During the eighteenth century it graced the collections of two remarkably different women. Its first owner was the popular soprano Marie-Josephine Laguerre (1755–1783), who as a fille d'Opera enjoyed a luxurious and dissolute existence made possible by her wealthy lovers. Her personal property was publicly sold in April 1782, less than a year before her untimely death. The catalogue indicates that she owned this secretary as well as two other pieces of furniture embellished with porcelain plaques. Some of the Sevres decorative wares in her collection may have been displayed on the marble shelves of the secretary. It is likely that Dominique Daguerre, who with his partner, Simon-Philippe Poirier, had a virtual monopoly on the purchase of Sèvres plaques, supplied the piece of furniture to Laguerre and bought it back at the 1782 sale, but this is not documented. In May of that same year, Maria Feodorovna, grand duchess of Russia, and her husband, Paul (1754–1801), visited Paris incognito as the comte and comtesse du Nord. The future empress was described by Jeanne-Louise-Henriette Campan (1752–1822), first lady-in-waiting to Marie-Antoinette, as being “of a fine height, very fat for her age, with all the stiffness of the German demeanour.” In Paris, Maria Feodorovna frequented the shops of the fashionable dealers, where she is likely to have acquired the porcelain-mounted secretary and other furnishings for her country residence at Pavlovsk. According to a detailed description of her private rooms written in 1795 by Maria Feodorovna herself, the secretary was placed in her boudoir. It remained at the imperial palace until the Soviet government, which had taken possession of Pavlovsk after the Revolution of 1917, offered works of art for sale to the dealer Joseph Duveen (1869–1939), who had traveled to the Soviet Union in 1931. View more Listen to experts illuminate this artwork's story #2258. Drop-Front Secretary on Stand 0:00 RW Skip backwards ten seconds. FW Skip forwards ten seconds. 0:00 Your browser doesn't support HTML5 audio. Here is a link to download the audio instead. View Transcript
5745.txt	Pitcher American 1830–70 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
558972.txt	Polishing stone Middle Kingdom ca. 1981–1640 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 109 View more
248090.txt	Terracotta lekythos (oil flask) Attributed to the Achilles Painter ca. 440 BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 159 Woman and youth The pigment of the youth's himation (cloak) is lost. The scene may be one of greeting or farewell. Because white-ground lekythoi served as funerary vases at this time, the subject is probably one of farewell, set in the woman's quarters of a house. View more
9157.txt	Tumbler American 1830–70 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 With the development of new formulas and techniques, glass-pressing technology had improved markedly by the late 1840s. By this time, pressed tablewares were being produced in large matching sets and innumerable forms. During the mid-1850s, colorless glass and simple geometric patterns dominated. Catering to the demand for moderately-priced dining wares, the glass industry in the United States expanded widely, and numerous factories supplied less expensive pressed glassware to the growing market. At the Exhibition of the Industry of All Nations at New York’s Crystal Palace in 1853, for example, the New England Glass Company exhibited 130 pieces of one design, "consisting of bowls, tumblers, champagnes, wines, and jelly glasses." This object belongs to one such service. Although the glass manufactory is not known, the glassware is very typical of the large services that were very popular with America’s middle class in the nineteenth century. View more
6264.txt	Plate Chinese, for American market 1785–90 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 This object belongs to a large dinner service (10.149.1–.248) bearing the Townley family coat-of-arms. The service, probably ordered by Justice Samuel Chase (1741–1811) of Annapolis, Maryland, displays the enamel-painted arms of Margaret Townley, Chase's aunt. View more
471462.txt	Tomb Effigy of a Lady French mid-13th century On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 09 Probably representing Margaret of Gloucester, the wife of Robert II, baron of Neubourg, this effigy is shown in the aristocratic costume of the period. From her belt are suspended a purse, or aumônière, containing coins for the needy, a needle case, and an eating knife in its sheath. The effigy rests on a modern base. View more
35935.txt	Armor German, possibly Brunswick ca. 1535 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 371 This is a fine late example of a fluted armor, made shortly before the style went out of fashion. It is distinguished for its unusually large proportions and impressive height. The bands of scales and the distinctive roping of the lower edge of the associated helmet and the top edge of the breastplate are features frequently found on armors from northern Germany (possibly Brunswick), a region generally not known for producing fluted armors. The leg defenses are of the same period but originally did not belong with the rest of the armor. View more
437437.txt	Young Woman (La Servante) Auguste Renoir French ca. 1875 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 824 The title Renoir conferred on this painting is untraced. By 1885 it was on the market as La Servante , and for many years afterward the subject was identified, erroneously, as a waitress in the popular Parisian restaurant called Duval’s. Whatever her role, Renoir imparted to his comely model an unaffected grace. As he once said, "I like painting best when it looks eternal without boasting about it: an everyday eternity, revealed on the street corner: a servant-girl pausing a moment as she scours a saucepan, and becoming a Juno on Olympus." View more
646262.txt	Gilt silver kylix Greek late fifth century BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 153 On the tondo is represented ‘dread-yelping’ Scylla, the Homeric sea monster who lived in a cave on a cliff along the Sicilian coast off the Straits of Messina. She is depicted in the characteristic way, with the upper body of a beautiful woman and three fierce dogs springing from her hips amidst her scaly extremities, one of which terminates in a ketos or sea dragon. Her dog’s heads snap at fish jumping around her and she brandishes the broken rudder of ship, which she has sent to the deep. Scylla is framed by a wave pattern and encircling the interior of the rim is a gilt laurel wreath. View more
679092.txt	Renaissance revival pendant on chain Carlo Giuliano Italian mid–late 19th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 556 This pendant evokes Renaissance jewelry more overtly than other Giuliano pieces in the Museum's collection, and its decorative effect derives largely from a semi-precious stone, in this case amethyst, which is not the case with the other works. The use of openwork and enameling in combination with pearls and semi-precious stones is typical of Giuliano’s work in the Renaissance style; the pendant retains its original chain. While Carlo Giuliano made other Renaissance-revival pendants that prominently employed amethysts, the workmanship on this example is unusually fine. View more
549857.txt	Inscribed fragment, Akhenaten, Nefetiti, Aten cartouches New Kingdom, Amarna Period ca. 1353–1336 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 122 View more
256286.txt	Marble spouted bowl Cycladic ca. 2700–2200 BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 151 The artistry of Cycladic marble-workers is evident in the stone vases as well as in figures. This example is exceptional for the thinness of the walls, the finely articulated spout, and the large size. View more
464709.txt	The Dead Christ with the Virgin, Saint John, and Angels French ca. 1390–1405 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 306 This medallion reveals how close metalwork and painting were at the beginning of the fifteenth century: such images, often referred to in inventories as tableaux d'or, use the same pictorial conventions as panel paintings to engage the viewer. An object for private devotion, it encouraged the owner to reflect on and emulate the suffering of the holy figures. Mary and John, shown half-length, hold the dead Christ upright against the edge of the sarcophagus, a scene not mentioned in the Gospels. An angel hovers above Christ's head, with the crown of thorns in his hands. Two other angels hold a curtain behind and in front of the three main figures, both concealing and unveiling them, as in a vision. View more
2002.txt	Chest of Drawers American 1675–1700 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
21940.txt	Crossbow of Count Ulrich V of Württemberg (1413–1480) Attributed to Heinrich Heid von Winterthur probably Swiss dated 1460 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 373 Dated 1460 in the carved staghorn decoration, this is the earliest known dated crossbow in existence. The staghorn is inscribed with the coats of arms of Württemberg and Savoy, referring to the owner, Count Ulrich V of Württemberg (1413–1480), and his third wife, Princess Marguerite of Savoy (1420–1479). Above the trigger is a German benediction rendered in Hebrew letters. This is a rare and early instance of Hebraic script on a personal item intended for a Christian patron. It can be translated as "Hold God dear and be high-hearted!" or "Hold God dear, high-hearted one!" View more
561103.txt	Funerary Cone of the High Priest of Amun Amenemopet New Kingdom ca. 1550–1295 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 117 This cone has the impression of a stamp seal inscribed for a man named Amenemopet who was a High Priest of the god Amun. For a drawing of this impression, see The world of funerary cones and stamped bricks , no. 135. View more
506826.txt	Guitar Christian Frederick Martin American ca. 1837 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 684 The guitar builder C. F. Martin established a workshop in New York City in 1833 upon emigrating from Markneukirchen, Germany. He later moved his company to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, where it has continuously operated ever since. This extraordinary instrument with an ivory fingerboard and bridge and decorative abalone and mother-of-pearl is one of the most elaborate instruments that he produced. View more
49356.txt	Vase with Dragon Handles China Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Yongzheng period (1723–35) On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 204 A glaze is formed when clay fired onto the surface of porcelain melts into a glasslike substance that fuses with the ceramic body, strengthening it. The lushness of the glaze covering this vase and the skillful manipulation of its color, created by controlling oxygen supply during firing, creates a sense of texture and depth similar to that found in porcelain with painted or incised decoration. View more
2764.txt	Two-handled cup American 1830–70 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 704 View more
198989.txt	Madeleine de Grandpré as donor (one of a set of four) French, Lorraine 1529 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 544 His coat of arms, crest, and helmet displayed prominently before him, Hesse de Linange kneels in prayer against a patterned cloth with a bejeweled green border. His wife, Madeleine de Grandpré, is portrayed in a similar setting and pose. Hesse de Linange commissioned the panels and their counterparts on the opposite wall, depicting his relatives and their patron saints, for the chapel of the church of the Franciscan convent of the Soeurs Grises in Ormes-et-Villes, Lorraine. View more
623388.txt	Worker Shabti of Henettawy (C), Daughter of Isetemkheb Third Intermediate Period ca. 990–970 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 126 View more
248906.txt	Terracotta kylix: eye-cup (drinking cup) Signed by Nikosthenes ca. 530 BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 155 Interior, gorgoneion (Gorgon's face) Exterior, obverse, between eyes, Dionysos, the god of wine, with satyrs and maenads; reverse, between eyes, chariot Nikosthenes was the leading ceramic entrepreneur in Athens from about 530 B.C. to the end of the sixth century. Because he signed his name often, we know that he had a large shop and exported actively. Many of the largest preserved Attic vases were made for the Etruscan market. View more
625921.txt	Worker Shabti of Nauny Third Intermediate Period ca. 1050 B.C. On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 126 Almost 400 small funerary figures known as shabtis were found with Nauny’s burial. These can be seen as avatars, meant to carry out agricultural labor on Nauny’s behalf in the afterlife. Of the 393 shabtis discovered, 355 were workers like this one, and 37 were overseers (see for example <a href="https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/551114">30.3.28.3</a>). Based on other assemblages from this era, Nauny originally might have had a total of 365 workers, one for each day of the year. This mummiform figure holds a hoe in each hand and has a basket on its back. The inscription on the front of the body calls Nauny an “illuminated Osiris.” This indicated that she had been transformed through the process of mummification and identified with the principal god of the dead, then reanimated by the light of the sun god as he traveled through the Netherworld each night. Nauny’s shabtis were divided between seven boxes. Five of these, with their shabtis, were given to The Met, while two were sent to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. View more
197462.txt	Coffeepot François Thomas Germain French 1757 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 545 This coffeepot represents one of the most original and successful designs found in all of eighteenth-century French silver. The spiraling channels that form the body create a sense of dynamic movement, and the spout and handle base are formed of coffee leaves and berries that elegantly reflect the intended function of the pot. It was long believed that this coffeepot was one of six made by François-Thomas Germain as part of a large silver dinner service for the Portuguese king, José I. However, the Museum's coffeepot lacks the engraved royal Portuguese coat of arms found on the coffeepots now in Lisbon, and its lid has slightly different decoration. Therefore, it is likely that this coffeepot was the first one made of this design and served as the model for the six made for the Portuguese court. Germain, son of the famous silversmith Thomas Germain, was one of the most fashionable silversmiths in Paris in the second half of the eighteenth century, and his large workshop supplied important services to the French and Russian courts, in addition to that of Portugal. View more
257826.txt	Mosaic glass bowl fragment Roman late 1st century BCE–early 1st century CE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171 View more
449843.txt	Chess Piece, King 9th–12th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 453 This ivory chess piece was excavated at the site of Tepe Madrasa in Nishapur. Nishapur was a vital city in the early and middle Islamic periods, located along one of the main trajectories that connected Iran and West Asia Islamic lands with Central Asia and China. These itineraries are often referred by the term ‘Silk routes’ but were in fact crucial to the movement of constellations of materials and objects, as well as people and ideas. The diverse population of Nishapur and its surroundings, from the better-researched elite groups of merchants, land-owning aristocracy, and literates, to the less-known artisans, farmers, miners, and servants, were instrumental in adapting global cultural trends to create their own distinctive visual languages. This is seen in the material remains of everyday life in medieval Nishapur — from pots and pans to lighting devices, inkwells, textiles and trimmings, jewelry, games and toys, talismanic devices, weapons, coins, and architectural fragments. Nishapur lost its political prominence due to a series of earthquakes and invasions that peaked in the thirteenth century. Today, the medieval city is a vast archaeological area, while the relatively small modern city is situated to its north. Instead, Mashhad, a major pilgrimage site, emerged as a major prosperous metropolis in the region. Between 1935 and 1948, the "Persian Expedition" of the Metropolitan Museum of Art excavated at several sites at Nishapur under an agreement with the Iranian authorities. The recovered artifacts were divided in half between the two countries, resulting in over four thousand objects in the Met’s collection today. As part of the larger "Persian Expedition" project at Nishapur, American archaeologists and hundreds of Iranian workers excavated a mound named Tepe Madrasa. There, they uncovered an architectural complex which they tentatively associated with a palace or governmental center because of the solidity of the built structures and the extent and variety of wall decorations (including carved and painted brickwork, glazed tiles, wall paintings, and carved and painted stuccoes). This, together with the ceramic and metal finds, aided in attributing the site to the ninth or tenth century onwards. A mosque, refurbished multiple times up to the late eleventh century, was also unearthed, yielding the remains of a monumental entrance with a large terracotta inscription bearing the titles of a sultan (39.40.58, .60–64). Several twelfth century tombstones were also unearthed, showing the shift in purpose of what was earlier a residential area. View more
921.txt	Box American 1770–1800 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
460209.txt	Dish (coppa): The satyr Silenus on an Ass the "Milan Marsyas" Painter ca. 1530–35 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 950 View more
42203.txt	Vase with Flowers and Scholar’s Implements China early 18th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 200 View more
471304.txt	Andiron French late 14th or early 15th century On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 17 View more
52010.txt	Granary Tower China 1st–early 3rd century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 207 Pottery models of houses and farm structures were commonly included in Eastern Han burials to provide for the afterlife. View more
6502.txt	Platter British (American market) 1800–1830 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
253498.txt	Terracotta pyxis (box) Greek, Corinthian 2nd half of the 6th century BCE On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 171 The handles are in the form of three human busts. View more
935.txt	Box American 1675–1700 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
449857.txt	Mold late 9th–early 10th century On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 453 This object was excavated at the site of Tepe Madrasa—a site with the spatial attributes of a mosque and residential buildings that were thought to have originally been a school. One of several similar fragments unearthed at Nishapur, Iran, it likely functioned as a mold. Made of red clay, it features a repeated border decorated with chevrons, palmettes, and small circles. Below the border are two figures whose feet soles meet at the middle of the fragment with their bodies extending in opposite directions; each is draped in checkered fabric with arms and fingers outstretched. The unusual imagery of the mold does not point to a specific use. This object was acquired by the Museum in 1939 through a division of finds with the Iranian government. View more
7608.txt	Solitaire Game 1770–1800 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more
467572.txt	Tiles with Checkered Pattern Spanish 1475–1500 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 307 Tiles such as these three examples might have been used to create a geometric frame, perhaps a star shape, that could enclose other decorated tiles View more
1279.txt	Candlestick ca. 1790 On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 774 View more

Subsets and Splits