Disk Brooch
Unknown Artist
mid-600s
Medium
Gold; garnet; red, pale, amber and blue glass; mother-of-pearl
Dimensions
Overall: 1 3/4 x 7/8 in. (4.4 x 2.2 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Gold
Culture
Frankish
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.193.83
Art Historical Context
This exquisite Disk Brooch, crafted by an unknown Frankish artisan in the mid-600s, exemplifies the opulent metalwork of the Merovingian period in early medieval Europe. Measuring just 1 3/4 x 7/8 inches, this petite jewel was likely pinned to a garment, serving as both a functional fastener and a badge of elite status among Frankish nobility. Housed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Medieval Art department—thanks to a 1917 gift from J. Pierpont Morgan—it reflects the wealth and sophistication of the Franks under rulers like Clovis's successors. The brooch's gleaming gold base is adorned wi...