Buckle
Unknown Artist
ca. 100 BCE–ca. 500 CE
Medium
Bronze
Dimensions
H. 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm); W. 1 in. (2.5 cm); thickness 1/4 in. (0.6 cm); Wt. 0.6 oz. (15 g)
Classification
Miscellaneous-Buckles & Ornament
Culture
Ibero-Roman
Department
Arms and Armor
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Bashford Dean, 1920
Accession Number
20.152.12
Art Historical Context
This exquisite bronze buckle, dating from around 100 BCE to 500 CE, hails from Ibero-Roman culture in the Iberian Peninsula, where indigenous Iberian traditions mingled with Roman influences during a transformative era. Measuring just 1 7/8 inches high and weighing a mere 0.6 ounces, its compact form belies its practical elegance—likely used to secure belts, straps, or harnesses. Crafted in durable bronze, a favored medium for its malleability and corrosion resistance, the buckle exemplifies the skilled metalworking of the period, possibly involving lost-wax casting or hammering techniques to ...