Pendant (one of a pair)

second half 15th century

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 500

There is no firm evidence about the original purpose of this type of niello pendant, but theories range from betrothal gifts (those with double portraits) to portable reliquaries (those with religious motifs).

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

Title: Pendant (one of a pair)
Date: second half 15th century
Culture: probably Northern Italian
Medium: Silver, niello, and gilt silver
Dimensions: Diameter: 1 1/8 in. (2.9 cm)
Classification: Metalwork-Silver In Combination
Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Object Number: 17.190.966
Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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Processional cross, Partly gilt silver, niello, and copper with traces of gilding, over wood, Italian, Florence — Processional cross
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ca. 1460–80

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Multiple artists/makers
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