“When I moved here four months ago, I had no idea what to expect of Cleveland and had never set foot inside the CMA. My first full day in the city I paid a visit to the museum, and I remember a moment of pure wonder in front of the Gothic Table Fountain, the likes of which I had never seen before.

Indeed, our table fountain, fashioned in 14th-century Paris, is the only near-complete one of its kind extant. I remember my awe at the basse-taille enamel plaques with scenes of merriment, at the intricate microarchitectural traceries with their crockets and crenellations, and at the small animal heads which would have spurted water, turning gears and tickling little bells. It is such a masterfully and whimsically orchestrated spectacle, and would have brought great pleasure to medieval royal feasts.

I get to see objects like this every day. The Table Fountain was the first object to make that privilege feel real for me…I knew I was in the right place.”