Medieval gilt pentagonal shaped annular brooch

Code: 11754

This is a nice medieval gold gilded bronze brooch, dating to the 13th - 14th century AD. It is of a pentagonal shape, decorated with clusters of grapes and crescents. The pin is intact, slender so it is more suited to delicate silks or linen fabrics. 

Ring-brooches are the most common type of medieval brooch to survive and had a practical function: to fasten tunics, especially at the neck. Shaped as rings, with a long central pin, these brooches varied enormously in size and could be tiny, smaller than a fingernail. Ring-brooches were made of costly gold or silver, or of much cheaper copper or pewter. They were worn mostly until the late fourteenth century when changing fashions in dress included more closely tailored clothes and the growing use of button fastenings.

This example has survived in excellent condition.

OBJECT: Brooch

CULTURE: Medieval

DATE: c. 1250 - 1350 AD

MATERIAL: Bronze gold gilded

SIZE:  18.8mm x 17.92mm x 1.25mm

WEIGHT: 0.88 grams

PROVENANCE: Formerly in a European private collection.