Cluster Brooch with Letters Spelling "Amor"

Unknown

mid-15th century · Gold, pearls, diamond, emerald paste, and silver pin · The Cloisters

This gold cluster jewel includes the Latin word amor (love) in delicate gold letters. It could have been worn either as a pendant or a brooch, and in portraits of young women many similar jewels are seen in their hair or at the shoulder or neck. Expensive jewelry played an important role in betrothal and marriage, and the groom gave brooches to the bride as tokens of love. In 1447, for example, Marco Parenti gave his betrothed, Caterina Strozzi, a golden brooch with two sapphires and three pearls to be worn on her shoulder.

Artist

Unknown

Date

mid-15th century

Medium

Gold, pearls, diamond, emerald paste, and silver pin

Culture

French

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 1957