Shield Grip
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
- 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
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