Belt Buckle and Tab (600s): Art, History and Details

Belt Buckle and Tab (600s) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This buckle would have been attached to a strip of leather worn around the waist. It was likely both an ornamental statement indicating social rank and a practical accessory. The decorative inlay was applied by forcing silver wire into a pattern engraved into the iron. The condition of the buckle indicates that it was likely excavated, perhaps from a grave.

Object facts

• Title: Belt Buckle and Tab
• Date: 600s
• Culture: Frankish, Migration period
• Type: Jewelry
• Technique: iron with silver overlay
• Dimensions: Overall: 10.2 x 5.9 cm (4 x 2 5/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Migration Period
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1919.1009

Collection credit

Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.