Purse Mount
Unknown Artist
late 5th–early 6th century
Medium
Silver with garnets, glass, cuttlefish bone
Dimensions
Overall: 4 x 1 5/16 x 3/8 in. (10.2 x 3.3 x 1 cm)
Classification
Metalwork
Culture
Frankish
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.191.162
Art Historical Context
This exquisite Purse Mount, crafted by an unknown Frankish artisan in the late 5th to early 6th century, exemplifies opulent metalwork of the early medieval period. Measuring just 4 x 1 5/16 x 3/8 inches, it as a decorative fitting for a high-status purse, likely worn by Frankish elites during the turbulent Migration Age. As part of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Medieval Art collection—gifted by J. Pierpont Morgan 1917—it offers a glimpse into the rising power of the Meroving Franks in what is now northern Europe. The mount's allure lies in its lavish materials: silver adorned with garnets...