Ornament

ca. 800 BCE

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 301

Though objects such as these are conventionally called “dress fasteners” and “sleeve fasteners,” their exact purpose is unknown. It has been proposed that the smaller “sleeve fastener” worked much like a modern cufflink: the disks would have been drawn through slits in the garment. The “dress fastener” may have been secured by loops sewn onto the garment.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Provenance

References

Title: Ornament
Date: ca. 800 BCE
Geography: Made in Ireland
Culture: Irish
Medium: Gold
Dimensions: 4 5/8 × 1 15/16 × 2 5/16 in., 0.2 lb. (11.8 × 5 × 5.9 cm, 99.6g)
Classification: Metalwork-Gold
Credit Line: Fletcher Fund, 1947
Object Number: 47.100.9
Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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