Detail View: The AMICA Library: Round Box Brooch

AMICA ID: 
MMA_.1992.59.1
AMICA Library Year: 
2002
Object Type: 
Decorative Arts and Utilitarian Objects
Description: 
A menagerie of tiny animals inhabits the interlace patterns on this round brooch. The four oval compartments on the top show beasts with round eyes, open jaws, claw feet, and intricately entwined bodies. Known as a box brooch because it was used as a container for small objects, it would have been worn by a Viking woman on the island of Gotland to secure her shawl at the collar.
Creator Nationality: 
European; Scandinavian; Viking
Creator Name-CRT: 
Viking
Title: 
Round Box Brooch
View: 
Principal view
Creation Date: 
700?900
Creation Start Date: 
700
Creation End Date: 
900
Materials and Techniques: 
Copper alloy
Creation Place: 
Made in Gotland, Sweden
Dimensions: 
D. 1 15/16 in. (4.9 cm)
AMICA Contributor: 
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Owner Location: 
New York, New York
ID Number: 
1992.59.1
Credit Line: 
Pfeiffer Fund, 1992
Copyright: 
Copyright ? 2002 The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.
Rights: 
Related Image Identifier Link: 
MMA_.h1_1992.59.1.tif