Join Gaylord Torrence and Brian Vallo for a closer look at, and in-depth commentary on, a selection of highlights in the exhibition Art of Native America: The Charles and Valerie Diker Collection. The exhibition is made possible by The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, the Diane W. and James E. Burke Fund, the Enterprise Holdings Endowment, and the Walton Family Foundation. The Metropolitan Museum of Art is situated in Lenapehoking, the homeland of Lenape peoples, and respectfully acknowledges their ongoing cultural and spiritual connections to the area. Credits Editor: Sarah Cowan Producer: Melissa Bell Audio: David Raymond Photography: Eileen Travell Music: Austin Fisher. Archival images Carrie Bethel, Courtesy Yosemite National Park Archives, Museum, and Library © 2018 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Created by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

What does it take to revive a masterwork? Michael Gallagher on conserving Charles Le Brun's Everhard Jabach and His Family Charles Le Brun (French, 1619–1690). Everhard Jabach (1618–1695) and His Family, ca. 1660. Oil on canvas; 110 1/4 x 129 1/8 in. (280 x 328 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Purchase, Mrs. Charles Wrightsman Gift, in honor of Keith Christiansen, 2014 (2014.250) http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/626692 MetCollects introduces highlights of works of art recently acquired by the Met through gifts and purchases. Discover a new work each month. http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/metcollects Credits Director: Christopher Noey Producer and Editor: Kate Farrell Camera: Sarah Cowan, Kate Farrell, Lisa Rifkind Design: Natasha Mileshina Music: Austin Fisher Explore more on MetMedia: http://www.metmuseum.org/metmedia/video.

Met curator Isabel Stünkel on precaution in Hippopotamus dating from Egypt’s Middle Kingdom, c. 1961–1878 B.C.E. This well-formed statuette of a hippopotamus (popularly called "William") demonstrates the Egyptian artist's appreciation for the natural world. It was molded in faience, a ceramic material made of ground quartz. Beneath the blue-green glaze, the body was painted with the outlines of river plants, symbolizing the marshes in which the animal lived. The seemingly benign appearance that this figurine presents is deceptive. To the ancient Egyptians, the hippopotamus was one of the most dangerous animals in their world. The huge creatures were a hazard for small fishing boats and other rivercraft. The beast might also be encountered on the waterways in the journey to the afterlife. As such, the hippopotamus was a force of nature that needed to be propitiated and controlled, both in this life and the next. This example was one of a pair found in a shaft associated with the tomb chapel of the steward Senbi II at Meir, an Upper Egyptian site about thirty miles south of modern Asyut. Three of its legs have been restored because they were purposely broken to prevent the creature from harming the deceased. The hippo was part of Senbi's burial equipment, which included a canopic box (also in the Metropolitan Museum), a coffin, and numerous models of boats and food production.