Material Culture

Stuff from the Middle Ages and Renaissance, including clothing, armor, and artwork. News about museum exhibits and new books.

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The Year 1000 will be at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden through March 17, 2024.

This major family exhibition takes you on a colourful journey in time through the middle of the Middle Ages: the period 900-1100. The year 1000 brings you close to the people of the time and their ideas about the world. The exhibition passes through their villages, stops by at the imperial residence in Nijmegen, and visits Utrecht Cathedral and the treasuries of Maastricht. You will also explore Byzantium and the Rome of one thousand years ago. The exhibition presents more than four hundred objects from all over the Netherlands and far beyond. They include almost every important archaeological artefact from the period 900-1100 that has been found in the Netherlands. Among the highlights are a Viking drinking-horn from the Basilica of Our Lady in Maastricht and the famous Egmond Gospels from the Royal Library of the Netherlands. The display also features swords, ship timbers, golden jewellery (including the recent treasure from Hoogwoud), coin hoards, the pectoral cross of St Servatius, the oldest chess pieces in the Netherlands, and a wooden ladder from a well.

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Strong Women in Renaissance Italy is at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston through January 7.

An exhibit book is also available.

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Tree & Serpent: Early Buddhist Art in India, 200 BCE-400 CE is at The Met Fifth Avenue through November 13, 2023.

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Love Gardens / Forbidden Fruit: Nature and Landscape before 1600 is at the Cleveland Museum of Art through October 29, 2023.

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Style & Society: Dressing the Georgians is at the Queen’s Gallery, Buckingham Palace, through October 8, 2023.

This exciting exhibition from the Royal Collection explores what the Georgians wore, from the practical dress of laundry maids to the glittering gowns worn at court. Discover what fashion can tell us about life in the 18th century, a revolutionary period when trade, travel and technological innovations fuelled fashion trends across all levels of society. Delve into the Georgians’ style story and get up close to magnificent paintings, prints and drawings by artists including Gainsborough, Zoffany and Hogarth, as well as luxurious textiles, sparkling jewellery, and a range of accessories from snuff boxes to swords.

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Riemenschneider and Late Medieval Alabaster is at the Cleveland Museum of Art through July 23, 2023.

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The Ugly Duchess: Beauty and Satire in the Renaissance is at the National Gallery through June 11, 2023.

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The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England is at the Cleveland Museum of Art through May 14, 2023.

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Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, through February 12, 2023.

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Vittore Carpaccio: Master Storyteller of Renaissance Venice is at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC, through February 12, 2023.

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A Knight's Tale, featuring arms & armor from the collection of the Museo Stibbert in Florence, is at the Arlington Museum of Art through February 12, 2023.

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Botticelli and Renaissance Florence: Masterworks from the Uffizi is at the Minneapolis Institute of Art through January 8, 2023.

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The Tudors: Art and Majesty in Renaissance England is at the Metropolitan Museum of Art through January 8, 2023.

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Dandy Style: 250 years of British Men's Fashion is at the Manchester Art Gallery through May 1, 2023.

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Text and Image in Southern Asia is at the Cleveland Museum of Art through March 5, 2023.

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The Medieval Top Seller: The Book of Hours is at the Cleveland Museum of Art through July 30, 2023.

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The Galloway Hoard: Viking-Age Treasure is at the Aberdeen Art Gallery through October 23, 2022.