Is an inscription in Hebrew letters on this crossbow a secret code?

"Art history is very much like detective work, and if you’re lucky there’s even a mystery to be solved."

"Art history is very much like detective work, and if you're lucky there's even a mystery to be solved."

Curator Dirk Breiding on a crossbow attributed to Heinrich Heid von Winterthur.

Explore this object:
https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/21940

Throughout 2013, The Met invited curators from across the Museum to each talk about one artwork that changed the way they see the world. Each episode is interpreted by a Museum photographer.

Photography by Joseph Coscia Jr.

Subscribe for new content from The Met: https://www.youtube.com/user/metmuseum?sub_confirmation=1

#TheMet #ArtExplained #Art


Contributors

Dirk H. Breiding
Assistant Curator, Department of Arms and Armor

Futuristic sculpture of a fragmented, abstract human form in stone against a neoclassical arch. The tone is dynamic and modern amidst classical architecture.
How do Lee Bul’s sculptures hold space for critical remembrance to show how the past shapes our present?
Anne Anlin Cheng
May 16
Close-up of a Queen of Clubs playing card with a cut-out section. Behind it, a faded, ghostly face is visible, creating a surreal, mysterious mood.
The artist’s work challenges the social and political context of mass incarceration.
Lisa Sutcliffe
April 28
More in:Art Explained

A slider containing 1 items.
Press the down key to skip to the last item.
Crossbow of Count Ulrich V of Württemberg (1413–1480), Heinrich Heid von Winterthur  probably Swiss, Wood (European hornbeam), horn, animal sinew, staghorn, birch bark, iron alloy, copper alloy, pigment, German, probably Stuttgart
Heinrich Heid von Winterthur
dated 1460