Special Exhibition Review: Prague, The Crown of Bohemia

Any special exhibition that includes, in its title, the year that the Black Death first reared its ugly head in Europe has certainly got my attention. When Stan Parchin, Senior Correspondent for Museums and Special Exhibitions, first expressed his interest in reviewing Prague, The Crown of Bohemia, 1347-1437, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I couldn't wait to hear his findings. How do you mount a show full of precious illuminated manuscripts, reliquaries, stained glass, textiles, paintings and references to the Plague? Beautifully, it turns out, if your name is Barbara Drake Boehm, the Met's Curator in the Department of Medieval Art and The Cloisters.

Stan, our own Late Medieval specialist, found no flaw whatsoever in Prague, The Crown of Bohemia ... In fact, well - you'll have to read his review, but - he seems thoroughly pleased to have (1) attended the exhibition, (2) read the catalogue and (3) been given the opportunity to delve into such a nice, chewy-for-him topic. Thanks, Stan! Great read, and you certainly taught me a few things with this review (not least of which was: "Which King Charles are we talking about?" Sometimes, I could almost swear every European King for centuries was named Charles ... no wonder they had to resort to tags like "the Bald," "the Fat" and "the Simple" ... ).