Girdle with Coins and Medallions

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This incomplete, massive gold girdle composed of a series of solidi (gold coins) and medallions may have been worn as an insignia of office. The four medallions depicting the emperor Maurice Tiberius (r. 582–602) probably were minted for him to present as gifts to high officials and nobles when he assumed the office of consul in 583. All the coins are stamped CONOB (Constantinopolis obryzum, i.e., pure gold of Constantinople), indicating that they were minted in the capital city. Joined with nine coins of Maurice Tiberius on the girdle is one of Theodosius II (r. 402–50) and four of the brief joint rule of Justin I and Justinian in 527.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.

Metropolitan Museum of Art