Square-Headed Bow Brooch
The jewelry made in Europe and the British Isles between the fourth and eighth centuries often merged geometric and animal forms into dizzying patterns, making it difficult to tell one creature from another. This example’s decorations include animal heads that merge feline and reptilian features, exemplifying the formal ambiguity favored at this time.
Artwork Details
- Title: Square-Headed Bow Brooch
- Date: 530–560
- Culture: Frankish
- Medium: Gilded silver inlaid with niello; iron spring/pin
- Dimensions: 4 1/16 × 1 13/16 × 11/16 in. (10.3 × 4.6 × 1.8 cm)
- Classification: Metalwork-Silver
- Credit Line: Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
- Object Number: 17.193.64b
- Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters
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500–600
second half 7th century
early 9th century
530–560
700s
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