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Shield Grip

late 4th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 373
The shield was carried by the grip, which was riveted across the hollow center of the shield on the inner side. This object and the associated shield boss (accession number 17.192.141) come from the tomb of a military official in Vermand, France, an area known in the fourth century as Gaul, which was then a province of the Roman Empire. Other finds from the same tomb, including a belt buckle, a decorative plaque, and the fittings from a spear shaft, are displayed in one of the Metropolitan Museum’s galleries of early medieval art.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Shield Grip
  • Date: late 4th century
  • Geography: Vermand
  • Culture: Western European, Gallo-Roman (found in Vermand, France)
  • Medium: Iron, silver
  • Dimensions: L. 14 5/16 in. (36.4 cm)
  • Classification: Miscellaneous-Ironwork
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.192.142a–c
  • Curatorial Department: Arms and Armor

More Artwork

More Artwork
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Shield Boss and Grip, Iron, silver, gold, glass, Western European, Gallo-Roman (found in Vermand, France)
Shield Boss and Grip
Western European, Gallo-Roman (found in Vermand, France)
late 4th century
Shield Boss, Iron, silver, gold, glass, Western European, Gallo-Roman (found in Vermand, France)
Shield Boss
Western European, Gallo-Roman (found in Vermand, France)
late 4th century
Snaffle Bit, Iron alloy, European, Bohemia
Snaffle Bit
European, Bohemia
1st–4th century
Buckle, Bronze, Spanish
Buckle
Spanish
1st–3rd century
Buckle, Bronze, Spanish
Buckle
Spanish
3rd–4th century

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