Earring
Unknown Artist
675–725
Medium
Silver
Dimensions
Overall: 3 3/8 x 1/4 in. (8.5 x 0.6 cm) Hoop: 3 3/8 in. (8.5 cm) Bead: 1/4 in. (0.6 cm)
Classification
Metalwork-Silver
Culture
Frankish
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.193.106
Art Historical Context
This delicate silver earring, crafted by an unknown Frankish artisan between 675 and 725, offers a glimpse into the daily adornments of early medieval Europe. Measuring just 3⅜ inches in hoop diameter with a small ¼-inch bead, its simple yet elegant form—a slender hoop accented by a single bead—exemplifies the refined metalworking skills of the Frankish people, who dominated much of Gaul (modern France and Germany) during the Merovingian era. Donated to the Metropolitan Museum Art in 1917 by J. Pierpont Morgan, it resides in the Medieval Art department as a prime example of Frankish silver met...