Belt Buckle

Description This buckle is of a type manufactured in workshops near Paris during the last third of the 6th century. It is incised with bands of concentric geometric ornament centering on a human face, interpreted variously as Medusa or, when surmounted by a cross, as Christ. In either case, the face is an apotropaic device, intended to protect the wearer from evil.

Conservation

Date	Description	Narrative
10/21/1960	Treatment	cleaned

Exhibitions

• Early Christian and Byzantine Art. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. 1947.
• Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1979-1980.

Provenance Joseph Brummer, New York; Joseph Brummer Sale, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, May 12, 1949, no. 278; Walters Art Museum, 1949, by purchase.

Credit Museum purchase, 1949