Whorl-Shaped Brooch

Unknown

550–650 · Copper alloy, gilding, niello, garnet · Medieval Art

Garnets, worked in the cloisonné technique, featured prominently in the luxury jewelry of the Franks. Jewelers would solder small compartments arranged in geometric patterns onto the surface of a metal disk. In those cells, or cloisons, they would place a textured piece of gold foil, which would show through the thin translucent garnet that would then be set on top.

Artist

Unknown

Date

550–650

Medium

Copper alloy, gilding, niello, garnet

Culture

Frankish

Department

Medieval Art

Credit line

Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, 1917