Keystone from a Vaulted Ceiling

ca. 1220–30

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 300

During the 1100s and 1200s, fortified settlements were built in the Holy Land by knights from western Europe trying to establish a Christian kingdom with Jerusalem as its capital. Founded by French Crusaders in the 1100s, Castle Montfort was purchased in the 1220s by the Teutonic Knights, German Crusaders who rebuilt it and renamed it Starkenberg. This keystone was probably carved during the Teutonic Knights’ restoration of the site. In 1272 after a heavy siege, the castle fell to Baybars, the Mamluk sultan of Egypt. The surviving knights retired to Acre (now Akko, Israel), the last Christian stronghold in the Holy Land. In 1926 the Museum took part in the excavation of the ruined castle.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Keystone from a Vaulted Ceiling
Date: ca. 1220–30
Culture: German
Medium: Limestone
Dimensions: Overall: 23 5/8 x 21 3/8 x 27 1/2 in. (60 x 54.3 x 69.9 cm)
Classification: Sculpture-Architectural
Credit Line: Gift of Clarence H. Mackay, Archer M. Huntington, Stephen H. P. Pell and Bashford Dean, 1928
Object Number: 28.99.1
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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Shrine of the Virgin, Oak, linen covering, polychromy, gilding, gesso, German — Shrine of the Virgin
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Limestone Keystone from a Vaulted Ceiling, Limestone, German — Limestone Keystone from a Vaulted Ceiling
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Column Statue of a King, Limestone, French — Column Statue of a King
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