Happy Halloween, #MetKids!
Illustration by Natasha Mileshina
«With Halloween just around the corner, we wanted to share a few of our favorite spooky, enchanting, and fanciful artworks in the Met's collection.»
Cat Statuette
![Cat Statuette](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.sanity.io/images/cctd4ker/production/b1d4fac948491c2ad686256e5dfab779e8233aea-600x800.jpg?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Cat statuette intended to contain a mummified cat. Ptolemaic Period, 332–30 B.C. From Egypt. Bronze, leaded; H. (including tangs) 12 5/8 in. (32 cm); W. 4 11/16 in. (11.9 cm); D. 9 3/16 in. (23.3 cm) H. (cat alone) 10 13/16 in. (27.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1956 (56.16.1)
Did you know that this was a container for a mummified cat? Egyptians used to mummify millions of animals—including crocodiles, cats, birds, and other creatures—as gifts for the gods.
The Fortune Teller
![The Fortune Teller](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.sanity.io/images/cctd4ker/production/ac185f115c9d5e4169be25282a29a090cac6a0a0-600x496.jpg?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Georges de La Tour (French, 1593–1653). The Fortune Teller, probably 1630s. Oil on canvas; 40 1/8 x 48 5/8 in. (101.9 x 123.5 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1960 (60.30)
Trick . . . or treat? This painting shows some people who are up to no good! The older woman at the right handing a coin to the young man in the center is a fortune-teller. Hmm, what's happening while he's distracted?
Human-Headed Winged Lion
![Human-headed winged lion (lamassu)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.sanity.io/images/cctd4ker/production/7a719ea864d9f89aa88a82986ee1bc4276d8169b-600x1032.jpg?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Human-headed winged bull and winged lion (lamassu), ca. 883–859 B.C.. Mesopotamia, Nimrud (ancient Kalhu). Assyrian. Gypsum alabaster; H. 10 ft. 3 1/2 in. (313.7 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Gift of John D. Rockefeller Jr., 1932 (32.143.1–.2)
Move over, caped avengers! This carved beast with the wings of a bird, head of a man, and body of a lion was like an ancient superhero, protecting the gates of King Ashurnasirpal II's palace from evil. What sort of powers might each of its body parts provide?
Album of Tournaments
![Album of Tournaments](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.sanity.io/images/cctd4ker/production/5966b4049a1febd64bc2588d4fec08bbdd2971ec-600x434.jpg?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Album of tournaments and parades in Nuremberg, late 16th–mid-17th century. Nuremberg. German, Nuremberg. Pen and ink, watercolor, gold and silver washes; paper bound in gold-tooled leather; cover: 14 x 10 3/8 in. (35.56 x 26.35 cm); page: 13 5/8 x 9 7/8 in. (34.61 x 25.08 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Rogers Fund, 1922 (22.229)
The elaborate costumes in this album of tournaments and parades in Nuremberg wouldn't look out of place at a masquerade party! This 112-page manuscript includes watercolor illustrations of actual parades, tournaments, and jousts that occurred over a span of more than a hundred years, between 1446 and 1561. The contestants could be identified by the colors, symbols, and creatures that decorated their equipment and armor.
Studies for the Libyan Sibyl
![Studies for the Libyan Sibyl (recto); Studies for the Libyan Sibyl and a small Sketch for a Seated Figure (verso)](https://cdn.statically.io/img/cdn.sanity.io/images/cctd4ker/production/b635430d2a32c18a5fefbf0763c9e2e8072ee721-600x814.jpg?w=3840&q=75&fit=clip&auto=format)
Michelangelo Buonarroti (Italian, 1475–1564). Studies for the Libyan sibyl (recto); studies for the Libyan sibyl and a small sketch for a seated figure (verso), ca. 1510–11. Red chalk, with small accents of white chalk on the left shoulder of the figure in the main study (recto); soft black chalk, or less probably charcoal (verso); sheet: 11 3/8 x 8 7/16 in. (28.9 x 21.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1924 (24.197.2)
This drawing by Michelangelo depicts a sibyl, or a woman who was able to foretell the future. In the finished painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, the sibyl holds a huge open book. Imagine what else this fortune-teller might hold.
What other magical or mysterious artworks are you thinking about this season? Tell us in the comments, and have a very happy Halloween, #MetKids!
Aliza Sena
Aliza Sena was formerly the associate coordinator for media production and online features in the Digital Department.