Two weeks after opening its Gates of Paradise exhibition, the Metropolitan Museum of Art held a symposium to explore various issues surrounding the creation, reception, and conservation of Ghiberti’s masterpiece. An international panel of art historians, curators, and conservators offered a range of general and specialist talks to accompany the remarkable loan of three narrative reliefs and four framing elements from the final set of bronze doors created for the Florentine Baptistery. Ian Wardropper, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Chairman of the Metropolitan’s Department of European Sculpture and Decorative Arts (ESDA), welcomed conference attendees. Cristina Acidini, Superintendent of the Polo Museale Fiorentino and the Opificio delle Pietre Dure in Florence, provided a brief institutional history of the Opificio and an overview of its conservation practices. James David Draper, Henry R. Kravis Curator, ESDA, introduced each speaker. All three praised the extraordinary nature of the collaborative exhibition; expressed gratitude for support of the twenty-five year conservation effort; thanked the Polo Museale for allowing these works to travel to Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Seattle on their first and last visit to the United States; and emphasized how the exhibition, catalogue, and symposium provided important dialogue between art historians and conservators. The...