Gold sheet appliques
Unknown Artist
1st half of the 5th century CE
Medium
Gold
Dimensions
(Type A): 9/16 × 3/8 × 1/16 in. (1.4 × 1 × 0.2 cm) (Type B): 7/16 × 1/4 × 1/16 in. (1.1 × 0.6 × 0.2 cm)
Classification
Gold and Silver
Culture & Period
East Germanic or nomadic (?) · Migration
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, 1898
Accession Number
98.11.71
Art Historical Context
These delicate gold sheet appliqués, crafted in the first half of the 5th century CE, hail from the turbulent Migration Period—a time when East Germanic tribes or nomadic peoples roamed Europe amid the Roman Empire's decline. Measuring just a few centimeters across (Type A: 1.4 × 1 × 0.2 cm; Type B: 1.1 × 0.6 × 0.2 cm), these tiny treasures were likely affixed to clothing, jewelry, or harnesses, shimmering as symbols of wealth and status among warrior elites. Hammered from thin gold sheets, the appliqués reflect the sophisticated metalworking of nomadic or Germanic craftsmen, who prized gold ...