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Brooch in the Form of a Panther

100–300
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301
This brooch is exceptional in its naturalistic rendering of a panther. The spots were created not with enamels but by the niello process, in which incisions in the silver were filled with an alloy of black sulphur that was then heated.

Small brooches, often in whimsical animal forms, were worn both by Roman soldiers stationed in the provinces and by the native population. Though brooches in these forms appear throughout the Roman world, the distribution of finds and the archaeological remains of workshops suggest that the major centers of production were Britain and Gaul.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Brooch in the Form of a Panther
  • Date: 100–300
  • Culture: Roman
  • Medium: Copper alloy inlaid with silver and niello
  • Dimensions: Overall: 1 5/16 x 2 1/2 x 1 1/8 in. (3.4 x 6.3 x 2.9 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Copper alloy
  • Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1947
  • Object Number: 47.100.18
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

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Bronze statuette of a pantheress, Bronze, copper, silver, niello, Roman
Bronze statuette of a pantheress
Roman
1st–2nd century CE
Bow Brooch, Silver with gold-sheet overlay and garnets, East Germanic
Bow Brooch
East Germanic
400–450
Priest holding a Reliquary, Champlevé enamel and gilded copper, silver, glass, textile, and wrapped relic, North French
Priest holding a Reliquary
North French
third quarter 13th century
Glass "Claw" Beaker, Glass, Frankish
Glass "Claw" Beaker
Frankish
5th–6th century
Statuette of the Personification of a City, Copper alloy, Late Roman or Byzantine
Statuette of the Personification of a City
Late Roman or Byzantine
300–500

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