Badge or Harness Pendant
Unknown Artist
ca. 1400
Medium
Copper, gold, enamel
Dimensions
H. 2 11/16 in. (6.8 cm); W. 2 5/8 in. (6.7 cm); Wt. 1.5 oz. (42.5 g)
Classification
Miscellaneous-Badges
Culture
Spanish
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1904
Accession Number
04.3.339
Art Historical Context
This exquisite Badge or Harness Pendant, around 1400 in Spain, the intricate metalwork of late medieval Europe. Measuring just over 2.5 inches across and weighing a mere 1.5 ounces, its compact form suggests it was designed for practical adornment—likely pinned to clothing as a badge of allegiance, pilgrimage, or knighthood, or suspended from a horse's harness in the Arms and Armor tradition. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum Art's Arms and Armor (acquired via the Rogers Fund in 1904), it reflects Spain's vibrant culture during the waning Reconquista era, when such emblems symbolized loyalty t...