In terms of its function, decoration, and inscription, this intimate piece of jewelry conveys the chivalric ideal of love. Made in the shape of the letter E, the brooch has a hinged cover that allowed it to function as a locket. The cover bears the figure of a man holding arrows aimed at his heart, while the interior inscription (in a Saxon dialect?) reads: • V/REWELININ • VRME DEI + HRZE • LEVE• /NSTE • MOIS IC IN • /•SIN (Fair lady, may I always remain close to your heart.)
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Artwork Details
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Title:Amatory Brooch
Date:ca. 1340–60
Geography:Made in Saxony, Germany or South Germany
Culture:German
Medium:Gold and freshwater pearl
Dimensions:Overall (closed): 1 1/4 x 7/8 x 1 1/2 in. (3.2 x 2.2 x 3.8 cm)
Classification:Metalwork-Gold
Credit Line:The Cloisters Collection, 1986
Object Number:1986.386
Inscription: Inscription: (on the interior of the reverse side) *V/REWELININ*VRME DEI + HERZE*LEVE*/NSTE*MOIS IC IN*/*SIN
Baron Robert von Hirsch, Frankfurt and Basel ; his posthumous sale, Sotheby's, London (June 20-27, 1978, no. 251) ; Sotheby's, London (December 11, 1986, no. 200)
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Cloisters. "The Colmar Treasure: A Medieval Jewish Legacy," July 22, 2019–January 12, 2020.
Steingräber, Erich. Antique Jewelry. New York: F.A. Praeger, 1957. p. 44, figs. 48–49.
The Robert von Hirsch Collection: Volume 2, Works of Art. London: Sotheby's, June 22, 1978. no. 251, p. 69.
Fritz, Johann Michael. Goldschmiedekunst der Gotik in Mitteleuropa. Munich: C. H. Beck, 1982. no. 322, p. 231.
Martin, Alastair Bradley, and William D. Wixom. "Curatorial Reports and Departmental Accessions." Annual Report of the Trustees of the Metropolitan Museum of Art 117 (July 1, 1986–June 30, 1987). p. 35.
Important Medieval Works of Art, Renaissance and Baroque Bronzes and other European Sculpture. London: Sotheby's, London, December 11, 1986. no. 200, p. 104.
Recent Acquisitions, 1986-1987 (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (1987). p. 16.
Lightbown, Ronald W. Mediaeval European Jewellery: with A Catalogue of the Collection in the Victoria & Albert Museum. London: Victoria and Albert Museum, 1992. pl. 56, pp. 187, 434.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 184, p. 157.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. no. 74, pp. 109, 196.
Barnet, Peter, and Nancy Y. Wu. The Cloisters: Medieval Art and Architecture. 75th Anniversary ed. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2012. p. 114.
Boehm, Barbara Drake. The Colmar Treasure: A Medieval Jewish Legacy. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019. no. 32, pp. 30, 31, 83, pl. 32.
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