This search will return exact matches only. For best results:
Please note that only low-res files should be uploaded. Any images with overlay of text may not produce accurate results. Details of larger images will search for their corresponding detail.
Drag file here
Upload
Processing search results
Waiting for update..
Error:
Search by Colour
Advanced Search
Search Tips
Searching for a particular field
Field
Search term
Example
Asset title
title:
title:pony
Asset title and keywords
~
~pony
Asset description text
description:
description:london
Agency prefix
prfx: or $
prfx:lal or $LAL
Asset id
imageid:
imageid:250297 or imageid:[2500 TO 4000]
Agency name
coll:
coll:history
Medium
medium:
medium:oil
Century
century:
century:20th
Keywords
kw:
kw:dog
Artist name
artist: or ?
artist:monet or ?monet
Artist nationality
??
??French
Creator ID
creatorid:
creatorid:37
Location
loc: or @
loc:exeter or @exeter
Classification
class: or #
class:57 or #57. Use # for unclassified assets
Year
year:
year:1850 or year:[1700 TO 1800]
Metadata Block (Hidden)
Contact us for further help
High res file dimension
Search for more high res images or videos
Belt Buckle, c.525-560 (bronze with garnets, glass, mother of pearl, gold foil, traces of gilding;...
IMAGE
number
XCL500298
Image title
Belt Buckle, c.525-560 (bronze with garnets, glass, mother of pearl, gold foil, traces of gilding; bronze and glass)
bronze with garnets, glass, mother of pearl, gold foil, traces of gilding; bronze and glass
Dimensions
7.1x2.7x13.2 cms
Image description
The art of the European Migration Period (3rd-7th centuries AD) is almost exclusively one of personal adornment-a portable art that followed men and women to their graves. Belt buckles with large rectangular attachment plates have been discovered in cemeteries across the Iberian Peninsula-now occupied by Spain and Portugal-from the period of Visigothic occupation (about AD 412-711). Their decoration varies. Finer examples, like this one, are distinguished by brilliantly inlaid semi-precious stones and colored glass. Garnets were especially prized in Visigothic society for use in cloisonné jewelry. The technique involved the fitting of carefully cut pieces of polished garnet into an intricate grid of compartments, or cloisons. This buckle is so densely inlaid with garnets that it presents a virtual "carpet" of red to the eye. These large Visigothic buckles are strikingly uniform in shape yet endlessly varied in surface design, perhaps a sign that they expressed the personal identities of their original owners. Grave excavations have shown that belt buckles of this type were made for women.
Photo credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund / Bridgeman Images