Bow Brooch, East Germanic, 400–450
Bow Brooch, East Germanic, 400–450. Silver with gold-sheet overlay and garnets. Overall: 6 9/16 x 2 7/16 x 1 3/8 in. (16.7 x 6.2 x 3.5 cm). Fletcher Fund, 1947, 47.100.19 © 2000–2017 The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Eastern Germanic women living along the Danube River wore this type of brooch in the 300s and 400s. This piece undoubtedly belonged to an aristocratic woman, and was part of a rich ensemble of gold jewelry consisting of armlets, rings, and collars with pendants. As with the rings on view nearby, garnets were used extensively as part of the surface decoration. These hardstones were polished— a technique referred to as cabochon—rather than faceted. Gemstones with faceted surfaces do not appear in western European jewelry until the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.