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Disk Brooch

second half 7th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301
The dress of Frankish women generally consisted of a tunic, cinched by a belt from which hung an array of pendants. A wrap or cloak went over the tunic. Shoes and hosiery, fastened with buckles, covered the legs. Earrings, necklaces, and hairpins completed the ensemble.

Aspects of this dress changed from the 300s to the 600s, and brooches in particular convey changes in taste. From the 300s to the 500s, pairs of small brooches, in an array of inventive shapes, held the wrap in place. By the 600s, a single large disc brooch, usually elaborately decorated, served the same function. No other piece of jewelry is more characteristic of Frankish dress than the brooch, and no other better demonstrates the virtuosity of Frankish metalworkers.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Disk Brooch
  • Date: second half 7th century
  • Culture: Frankish
  • Medium: Gold sheet, filigree, moonstone/adularia, glass cabochons, garnets, mother-of-pearl, and moonstone
  • Dimensions: Overall: 2 5/16 x 3/4 x 2 5/16 in. (5.8 x 1.9 x 5.8 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Gold
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.193.90
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

More Artwork
Top of a Signet Ring, Gilded silver, beaded wire border; no spring/pin extant, Frankish
Top of a Signet Ring
Frankish
7th century
Disk Brooch, Gold, filigree, mother-of-pearl, garnets, blue and green stones, Frankish
Disk Brooch
Frankish
7th century
Glass "Claw" Beaker, Glass, Frankish
Glass "Claw" Beaker
Frankish
5th–6th century
Buckle Loop, Bronze, French, Haute-Savoie
Buckle Loop
French, Haute-Savoie
possibly 5th century
Cameo, Beth Benton Sutherland American, Gold, moonstone, diamonds, emeralds, American
Cameo
Carved by Beth Benton Sutherland
Designer Designed by Izabel M. Coles
1929

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