Eagle Brooches: Visigoth Gems & 1500-Year-Old Pins
- Here's a breakdown of the details provided in the text, focusing on the eagle pin and it's past context:
- * Technique: Created using the cloisonné technique (where metal strips create compartments filled with glass/stones).
- * Time Period: fourth to eighth centuries CE (Migration Period in Europe).
Here’s a breakdown of the details provided in the text, focusing on the eagle pin and it’s past context:
The Eagle Pin – Description:
* Technique: Created using the cloisonné technique (where metal strips create compartments filled with glass/stones).
* Materials: Red and blue-green glass,white stones,and blue gemstone eyes.
* Construction: Shows remnants of the original spring mechanism and clasp on the reverse side.
Historical Context – Visigoths & the Migration Period:
* Time Period: fourth to eighth centuries CE (Migration Period in Europe).
* Visigoths: A group that moved from Central Europe into the Iberian peninsula (modern-day Spain and Portugal) as the Roman Empire declined.
* kingdom of Toledo: The Visigoths established a kingdom in Toledo, Spain, where art and writing flourished in the 6th and 7th centuries.
* Symbolism of the Eagle: In Visigoth art, the eagle represented the supreme being and embodied power.
* Use of the Pins: These eagle pins were ofen found in pairs in women’s graves. They were likely used to fasten clothing at the shoulder.
Sources Cited:
* Livescience.com (article on the ancient goths)
* Metropolitan Museum of Art (Katharine Reynolds Brown, art historian)
* Artofthemiddleages.com
* Cornell University Press (book: Art and Architecture of the Middle Ages)
* The Walters Art Museum