Belt Buckle

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The belt buckle was a field for elaborate decoration and a very visible symbol of rank and status. Brightly colored buckles inset with pieces of glass and stone are characteristic of Visigothic women's dress. This piece is exceptional for the rare inclusion of lapis lazuli, a stone used more frequently in Byzantium.

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