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Medieval Art

Henry Walters assembled one of the nation's greatest collections of art produced during the Middle Ages, a period that stretches from the collapse of the Roman Empire to the beginning of the Renaissance. Located in the third floor of the Museum's Centre Street Building, the Walters' medieval galleries open a window into an age when art was a fundamental form of religious expression. The galleries tell the stories of the rise of Christianity, the role played by monasteries and courts as patrons of the arts, the emergence of pilgrimage and the Christian cult of saints, and the development of artistic traditions in major metropolitan centers like Constantinople, Paris, Prague, and Florence. 

Featuring works of art in all the major artistic media of the period, the Walters' medieval collection includes remarkable examples of metalwork, sculpture, stained glass, textiles, icons, and other paintings. The collection is especially renowned for its ivories, enamels, reliquaries, early Byzantine silver, post-Byzantine art, and Ethiopian Christian art. Together, these objects offer a remarkable overview of one of the world's great periods of human creativity, spiritual yearning, and artistic innovation.

The Walters' medieval collection features unique objects like The Rubens Vase and the earliest surviving image of the Virgin of Tenderness. The Walters' Eagle Fibulae render the Roman imperial symbol of the eagle using the metalworking techniques perfected by the Visigoths who settled in present-day Spain, formerly part of the Roman Empire. The Sculpted heads from the royal Abbey of St. Denis are rare surviving examples of portal sculptures that are directly connected with the invention of Gothic art in 12th-century France. An ivory casket covered with scenes of jousting knights testifies to the medieval love for stories of love and adventure. It is one of only about a dozen such objects to survive in the world.