Belt with Profiles of Half-Length Figures

ca. 1350–1400

Not on view

Extravagant girdles used to cinch the fall of clothing at the waist were often part of betrothal gifts, dowries, and counter-dowries (given by the groom). One of the stories of Boccaccio's Decameron (1349–52) included girdles, along with rings, as gifts for a new bride. Intact girdles such as this one are rare. It would have been worn under the breasts, pulled through the buckle—here in the form of a curving figure—and then hanging to the ground, its gilt details and enameling catching the light. The enamel technique known as basse taille allows the silver below to shine through the translucent enamels.

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Belt with Profiles of Half-Length Figures
Date: ca. 1350–1400
Culture: Italian
Medium: Basse taille enamel, silver-gilt, mounted on textile belt
Dimensions: 69 x 1 x 11/16 in. (175.3 x 2.5 x 1.7 cm)
Other (textile belt width): 1/2 in. (1.2 cm)
Classification: Enamels-Basse taille
Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number: 17.190.963
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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