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Belt Buckle

ca. 600
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301
Belts, worn by both men and women, were an important feature of medieval dress. A complete belt included a buckle, its counter plate, and an additional plate at the back for decoration; these highly visible and interchangeable fittings allowed for flexible displays of identity.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Belt Buckle
  • Date: ca. 600
  • Culture: Frankish
  • Medium: Iron with silver inlay and copper alloy rivets
  • Dimensions: Overall: 6 x 1 1/2 x 2 11/16 in. (15.3 x 3.8 x 6.8 cm)
  • Classification: Metalwork-Iron
  • Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.193.161
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

More Artwork

More Artwork
Glass "Claw" Beaker, Glass, Frankish
Glass "Claw" Beaker
Frankish
5th–6th century
Belt Buckle, Iron inlaid with silver, iron rivets with heads of copper alloy, Frankish
Belt Buckle
Frankish
late 6th–7th century
Marble Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll, Pentelic Marble, Byzantine
Marble Portrait Bust of a Woman with a Scroll
Byzantine
late 4th–early 5th century
Disk Brooch, Silver, gilded silver, foil and wire, and glass paste or garnet, Frankish
Disk Brooch
Frankish
6th century
Counter Plate from a Belt Buckle, Iron with silver inlay and copper alloy rivets, Frankish
Counter Plate from a Belt Buckle
Frankish
675–725

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