Arm Ring
Together with its mate, Walters 57.466, this bracelet has stylized animal-head terminals, much like those found on jewelry made by Germanic peoples to the south. Arm rings or armlets made by twisting thick and thin rods of gold or silver were common during the Viking period, when wealth was literally worn on one's sleeves. Arm rings, the portable savings accounts of the Vikings, would be collected, exchanged, or hacked up to provide weighed amounts of gold to purchase goods.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Joseph Brummer; Henry Walters, Baltimore, February 8, 1927, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
1947 | Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Measurements
2 3/8 x 2 5/8 x 1/4 in. (6.1 x 6.6 x 0.7 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1927
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Migration and Early Medieval Art
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.467