Gold Belt-Hole Guard
Unknown Artist
700s
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
1 × 7/8 × 1/4 in., 0.45 Troy Ounces (2.5 × 2.2 × 0.7 cm, 14g)
Classification
Metalwork-Gold
Culture
Avar
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.190.1679
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Medieval collection, this exquisite *Gold Belt-Hole Guard from the 700s exemplifies the masterful metalwork of the Avar. Crafted from pure gold and weighing just 0.45 Troy ounces (14 grams), this diminutive piece—measuring a mere 1 × 7/8 × 1/4 inches (2.5 × 2.2 × 0.7 cm)—served a practical yet prestigious function. It protected and adorned the hole in a leather belt where the buckle prong would insert, a common accessory among nomadic warriors and elites of the Avar Khaganate, who dominated the Eurasian steppes and Carpathian Basin from the 6th to 9t...