Tickets
English
DonateMembershipTickets

Baptismal Font

1137
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301
The Luke mentioned in the inscription was the first chief abbot of the monasteries in Messina, Sicily. The Greek crosses and vine scroll decoration reflect a merging of local and Byzantine artistic vocabularies.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Baptismal Font
  • Date: 1137
  • Geography: Made in probably Sicily, Calabria, Southern Italy
  • Culture: South Italian
  • Medium: Marble (Pentelic marble)
  • Dimensions: Overall: 26 3/4 x 24 7/16 in. (68 x 62 cm)
    rim thickness: 1 3/4 in. (4.4 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Stone
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.190.2125
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

More Artwork
Morgan Casket, Ivory; carved
Morgan Casket
11th–12th century
Marble Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll, Pentelic Marble, Byzantine
Marble Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll
Byzantine
late 4th–early 5th century
Glass "Claw" Beaker, Glass, Frankish
Glass "Claw" Beaker
Frankish
5th–6th century
Oliphant, Elephant ivory, metal mounts, South Italian
Oliphant
South Italian
12th century
Standing Virgin and Child, Marble (Pentelic marble), with traces of polychromy and gilding, North Italian
Standing Virgin and Child
North Italian
ca. 1425

Related Content

Publications

Books, guides, and catalogues published by The Met.

Research Resources

The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.

To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.

Feedback

We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please contact us using the form below. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.

Send feedback

Content Notice

The Metropolitan Museum of Art presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world, and our online collection reflects ongoing work conducted over the course of our more than 150-year history. You may encounter objects or images that may be inappropriate for some viewers or information that may be outdated.