Belt with Profiles of Half-Length Figures
Unknown Artist
ca. 1350–1400
Medium
Basse taille enamel, silver-gilt, mounted on textile belt
Dimensions
69 x 1 x 11/16 in. (175.3 x 2.5 x 1.7 cm) Other (textile belt width): 1/2 in. (1.2 cm)
Classification
Enamels-Basse taille
Culture
Italian
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.963
Art Historical Context
This exquisite *Belt with Profiles of Half-Length Figures crafted in Italy around 1350–1400, exemplifies the opulence of late medieval luxury goods. Fashioned as a wearable accessory, it features a series of enamel plaques depicting bust-length figures in profile, mounted on a slender textile belt. Measuring nearly 6 feet long when extended, it would have encircled the waist of a nobleman or wealthy patron, blending functionality with high artistry during the Gothic period's transition toward Renaissance humanism. The belt's standout medium is *basse taille* enamel—a sophisticated technique w...