Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art


    • Bracteate, 5th–6th century
    Scandinavian
    Gold

    1 7/8 x 1 3/4 x 3/16 in. (4.8 x 4.4 x 0.4 cm)
    Purchase, Gift of Dr. Mortimer Sackler, Theresa Sackler and Family, and John W. Byington Trust Gift, 2001 (2001.583)

    Bracteates likely derived from Roman/Byzantine portrait medallions, presented by the emperor to forge personal and political alliances. Here, however, the imperial image has been transformed into a depiction of what is probably a god from the Nordic pantheon, his oversized face balanced atop a galloping horse with horns. With their skillful workmanship and allusions to the Roman/Byzantine world, gold bracteates conveyed both the sophisticated taste and high social status of their owners, who wore them as fine jewelry and hoarded them as treasure.

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    This work has been published in the Museum's Bulletin or Journal. These articles may or may not represent the most current scholarship.
  • "Recent Acquisitions: A Selection, 2001–2002," The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, v. 60, no. 2 (Fall, 2002).
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  • Bracteate, 5th–6th century
    Scandinavian
    Gold

    1 7/8 x 1 3/4 x 3/16 in. (4.8 x 4.4 x 0.4 cm)
    Purchase, Gift of Dr. Mortimer Sackler, Theresa Sackler and Family, and John W. Byington Trust Gift, 2001 (2001.583)