I visited the Metropolitan Museum the other day, mainly for the purpose of writing this blog post and obtaining extra credit for my Themes of Global History class, but I didn’t let those reasons burden me enough from enjoying the exhibits. The Met includes exhibitions from different cultures around the world; they can go as specific as Greek and Roman Art to as broad as Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. Pretty much every aspect of the globe is either displayed, written, or mentioned in the Met.
The exhibition that drew the most interest to me was Arms and Armor. Going to war around the 15th and 16th centuries is incredibly different from going to war in current times. With modern technology, soldiers are fine with bulletproof vests, camouflage clothing, and round, plastic helmets. These uniforms are just like the word itself, uniform. There is no character or personality in the gear that soldiers wear. However centuries ago, armor were made from various materials and had intricate designs on them. The armor showcased were very beautiful and allowed the wearers to proudly flaunt their culture while fighting for their country. I love watching movies and TV shows that are set in this time period because I’m able to watch soldiers wearing armor in action. Not only were the armor very intriguing, the weaponry was shocking.
The arms in the medieval ages were not what I assumed them to be, just simpled musket rifles. There were weapons from all over the world. I saw Italian guns and Japanese samurai swords. The weapons from the Islamic ages had geometric designs and Arabic on them. Other weapons had gems and vivid colors on the weapons.
After finishing up the Arms and Armor exhibit, I visited 
Egyptian Art. I was learning about Ancient Egypt in my History class. While I was growing up, my uncle worked in Sudan and brought me a book with Egyptian figurines and statues. I always thought Egyptian sculptures were beautiful and different from anything else I’ve seen. This was the first time when I saw a sarcophagus in person. The sarcophagi were bigger than I thought they were. It is impressive how Egyptians were able to create complex sculptures and objects during their time.
