Over the course of my life, and in particular during my trek around Medieval America I visited a lot of museums. I love them just as I would imagine you do.

And...

And there is something not highly touted about museums that I really love.

It's the things they have on display that aren't obviously on display. They are almost secretly there. A good example is this Marble screen. You walk through the doorway between two museum rooms and just put your hand on it as a railing or bannister. Until you realize it is different.

You might not even notice it. And it is from the period between 700 and 800. I have included the placard so you can learn more about it.

And here is a painting on a ceiling in a museum. The title of the painting is "The Dreams of Men".

The ceiling of museum rooms, halls and other spaces is a very common place for art works. If the original artwork was on a ceiling (ala the Sistine Chapel) then the museum really wants to keep it in that kind of orientation. It's important because the artist created the work specifically to be seen from that angle.

Every museum has examples like those. You just have to be alert and aware to notice them. Which can be a bit tricky because there is so so much to see in every museum.

But above all the other museums is one that takes this whole concept to a new level! It is The Cloisters in New York city.

The whole museum is itself a museum. It is built from Medieval era monasteries and cloisters in Europe. They were purchased, disassembled and rebuilt into The Cloisters here in New York. So, everywhere you go in this musuem is being inside an actual museum piece. I love it!