Earring
Unknown Artist
500–700
Medium
Copper alloy, gilt?, glass paste cabochons
Dimensions
Overall: 1 7/16 x 1 3/8 x 1/2 in. (3.7 x 3.5 x 1.3 cm) bead: 5/16 x 1/2 in. (0.8 x 1.3 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Copper alloy
Culture
Frankish
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.192.110
Art Historical Context
This delicate Frankish earring, to 500–700 AD, offers a glimpse into the daily adornments of early medieval Europe during the Merovingian. Crafted by an unknown artisan, it exemplifies the metalworking prowess of the Franks, a Germanic people who dominated much of Gaul (modern France) and established one of Europe's foundational kingdoms. Measuring just 1 7/16 x 1 3/8 x 1/2 inches overall, with a small bead component, its petite scale belies its cultural weight as personal jewelry likely worn by women of status. Fashioned from copper alloy—possibly enhanced with gilding for a golden sheen—and...