Belt Buckle in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, January 2010

Belt Buckle, 550–600
Visigothic
Copper alloy, cells inset with garnets, glass, lapis lazuli, and cuttlefish bone
2 3/8 x 3 3/4 in. (6 x 9.5 cm)
Rogers Fund, 1988 (1988.305 ab)

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.

Text from: www.metmuseum.org/toah/ho/06/eusi/ho_1988.305ab.htm

The Visigoths

Of the many people who settled in the western lands once part of the Roman Empire, the Franks and Visigoths were among the most successful. They were, in fact, rivals in their territorial claims- both vying for lands situated along what is now the border between France and Spain. After the Franks led by king Clovis defeated the Visigoths in 507, the latter retreated into Spain. There they established a kingdom that flourished culturally and economically until the early 700s, when it was conquered by Muslims who crossed the Strait of Gibraltar from North Africa.

Text from the Metropolitan Museum of art- additional non-specific work label information.