Small Bead
Unknown Artist
500–600
Medium
Glass
Dimensions
Overall: 3/16 x 3/16 in. (0.4 x 0.5 cm)
Classification
Glass-Beads
Culture
Frankish
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917
Accession Number
17.193.15
Art Historical Context
Nestled in the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Medieval Art collection, this diminutive *Small Bead* from the Frankish culture (circa 500–600 CE) exemplifies the exquisite craftsmanship of early medieval artisans. Measuring just 3/16 x 3/16 inches (0.4 x 0.5 cm), this glass bead—gifted by J. Pierpont Morgan in 1917—was likely part of jewelry, clothing adornments, or trade goods in the Merovingian Frankish Kingdom, which spanned much of modern-day France and Germany after the fall of Rome. Glass beads like this one were produced using sophisticated techniques, such as trailing molten glass around...