Horse Bridle or Belt Ornaments

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Colorful plaques of cloisonée enamel set into intricate patterns of filigree and granulation adorn this sumptuous group of ten ornaments, components of a larger set that may have decorated an elaborate horse bridle or perhaps a sword belt. Their design and decorative techniques link them to other pieces of fine metalwork made in the Nasrid capital of Granada, presumably in a royal workshop.

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