Combat Between Dragon and Dog (one of five medallions from a coffret)
Unknown Artist
ca. 1110–30
Medium
Copper-gilt, champlevé enamel
Dimensions
Overall: 3 9/16 x 1/2 in. (9 x 1.3 cm) Overall (with nail tangs): 3 7/8 x 1/2 in. (9.8 x 1.3 cm)
Classification
Enamels-Champlevé
Culture
French
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.691
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold this exquisite medallion, *Combat Between Dragon and Dog one of five that once adorned a luxurious coffret—a small box likely used for relics, jewels, or personal treasures—from early 12th-century France Crafted around 1110–30, this tiny artwork (just under 4 inches across) captures a fierce mythical clash in vivid detail, with the dragon's serpentine form twisting against the loyal dog's defensive stance. Such fantastical scenes were popular in Romanesque art, blending the supernatural with everyday motifs like dogs, evoking a sense of wonder in medieval viewers. The masterpiece shine...