Large Brooch

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This brooch is one of the largest, most complex objects of its type to survive from late Bronze Age Europe. The five dynamic spirals were composed of three long wires. Hanging from the horizontal section are six composite elements: at the top of each is a bird surmounting a horse bit, beneath which are rings and pairs of dagger blades. The numerous hoards containing such objects suggest that they functioned as ritual offerings deposited during burials. The brooch is one of a group of eleven objects (seven other brooches and two bracelets) given to the museum by Josef and Brigitte Hatzenbuehler.

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