Fragments
Unknown Artist
4th–7th century
Medium
Iron
Dimensions
Storage (petri dish diam.): 5 9/16 in. (14.2 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Iron
Culture
Coptic
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Museum Accession
Accession Number
X.606.1
Art Historical Context
Welcome to the Medieval Art galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art where we encounter *Fragments*, a poignant collection of iron pieces crafted by an unknown artist between the 4th and 7th centuries.oused in a petri dish measuring 5 9/16 inches (14.2 cm) in diameter, these delicate remnants belong to the Coptic culture of early Christian Egypt, a time when Christianity flourished amid the fading Roman Empire. Coptic metalwork like this iron offers rare glimpses into everyday life and craftsmanship in Late Antique Egypt. Iron, prone to corrosion over millennia, was valued for its strength...