The region of Kent, in southeastern England, was an important center of Anglo-Saxon jewelry production of the type represented by this delicate, brightly colored piece. The interlace patterns created by gold filigree and the polished garnets reflect the high quality of goods worn by individuals in life and later buried with them.
Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.
Open Access
As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.
API
Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.
Use your arrow keys to navigate the tabs below, and your tab key to choose an item
Title:Pendant
Date:early 600s
Culture:Anglo-Saxon
Medium:Gold with garnets
Dimensions:Overall: 1 1/8 x 1/16 x 1/16 in. (2.8 x 0.2 x 0.1 cm) With Attachment: 1 1/8 x 1 3/16 in. (2.8 x 3 cm)
Classification:Metalwork-Gold
Credit Line:Purchase, Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1987
Accession Number:1987.90.2
The three Kentish pieces were excavated in 1894 in Teynham, three miles from the center of production of Kentish jewerly in Faversham. The large brooch (right) is made of two parts: a silver-gilt backplate and a gold front plate consisting of cloisonné inlay, annular in shape, with four triangular settings radiating from it. Between these settings are others similar to the center setting. The interstices are decorated with bands of filigree. Whereas the filigree represents a revival of Roman techniques, the use of gold and garnets was due directly to the Franks; in fact, it is now beleived by most scholars that Anglo-Saxon cloisonné was produced to order in continental workshops. The pattern of the filigree as well as the design of the gold front plate with the star-shaped cloisonné inlay typify Kentish jewerly from the late sixth to the early seventh century.
Excavated with the brooch was the gold disk pendant (center) decorated with gold wire and cloisonné garnets, which form a star-shaped pattern with a single cell encircling each tip of the star. The central cell, which has patterened foil across the bottom, is empty. A design formed of twisted wires between beaded wires fills the remaining areas of the pendant. The second pendant (left), although not from the same find, also comes from Teynham; it was in the Kennard Collection as well, and was sold by Sotheby's in 1895 with the other two items. (The central cloisonné designs of both pendants are alike.) Four bosses fill the interstices between the points of the star. The rest of the surface is ornamented with heart-shaped filigreee motifs. Only one interstitial boss and the central cell retain their garnets.
Pendants such as these were rare in the sixth century, and came into vogue only at the end of that century and the beginning of the seventh. The pendant found with the brooch led Avent to conclude that the latter dates to the seventh century.
All three objects would be a tribute to the collection of any major museum because they are classic examples of their type, in a fine state of preservation, and, in addition, they are well published. They come to us from the well-known Pitt- Rivers Collection in Dorset, England.
D.F. Kennard, Linton, Maidstone, England (sold 1895); Sotheby's, London(March 12, 1895, lot 16); Lt. General Augustus Pitt Rivers (aka Lane Fox), Farnham, Dorset, England; [ K. J. Hewett Ltd., London]; [ P. & D. Colnaghi & Co., London]; [ Artemis Fine Arts Limited, London]; [ Ward & Company Works of Art (American), New York (sold 1987)]
New York. The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Mirror of the Medieval World," March 9–June 1, 1999.
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.
Recent Acquisitions, 1986-1987 (Metropolitan Museum of Art) (1987). pp. 12–13.
Brown, Katharine R. Migration Art, A.D. 300-800. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1995. pp. 15, 42–43, fig. 10.
Wixom, William D., ed. Mirror of the Medieval World. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. no. 56, p. 45.
Brown, Katharine R., Dafydd Kidd, and Charles T. Little, ed. From Attila to Charlemagne: Arts of the Early Medieval Period in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. New York and New Haven: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. pp. 290, 358–359, fig. 6b, 23.16.
The Met's Libraries and Research Centers provide unparalleled resources for research and welcome an international community of students and scholars.
The Met Collection API is where all makers, creators, researchers, and dreamers can connect to the most up-to-date data and public domain images for The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.
The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world, encompassing the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome to the beginning of the Renaissance.