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The Priest Aaron

ca. 1170
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 304
This sculpture of Aaron and the opposite figure of Moses form part of a rare ensemble of key figures from the Hebrew Bible. They symbolically prefigure the redemption offered through the sacrificial death of Christ, and with other statues originally flanked an enthroned Virgin and Child that still survives in the Gothic cathedral at Noyon. The sculptures are distinguished by garments of weighty fabric arranged in swelling volumes stretched around the body. Here, the Levite priest Aaron covers his head with a veil and holds a scroll. After their removal from the cathedral in the wake of the French Revolution, the sculptures were affected by different environmental conditions.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Priest Aaron
  • Date: ca. 1170
  • Geography: Made in Noyon, Picardy (Oise)
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: Limestone
  • Dimensions: Overall: 50 x 16 1/2 x 13 1/2 in. (127 x 41.9 x 34.3 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Stone
  • Credit Line: The Bequest of Michael Dreicer, 1921
  • Object Number: 22.60.17
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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