Merovingian Bird Brooch

Merovingian bird brooch - eagle brooch with cloisonné.

This detailed replica of a Franconian-Alemannic bird or eagle brooch is based on a Merovingian model from the 6th century, which is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

This Merovingian eagle brooch is made of bronze and silver-plated and, unlike the original historical find, is not decorated with genuine Amaldine cloisonné but with red glass inlay.

Link to the original bid brooch...

Dimensions of the Merovingian bird brooch: 3.5 x 1.6 cm.

There is a solid pin with a spiral spring on the back, which gives the pin the necessary tension.

In the 5th and 6th centuries, bird brooches were a characteristic part of Merovingian women's costume and were usually worn as a pair or in combination with a rosette brooch.

These eagle brooches were used to fasten the neckline of the dress in the chest area and were a status symbol of the Frankish and Alemannic woman of the Merovingian period.

Bird brooch, rosette brooch and a pair of bow brooches - jewellery on the four-brooch costume of the wealthy Merovingian woman.

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In the goldsmith's technique of cloisonné, small pieces of glass or precious stone are set into a grid of metal bars on a patterned foil of gold leaf or gold-plated silver. This technique is therefore also known as cell enamelling.

The oldest examples of cloisonné come from India and were used as early as the 3rd millennium BC. From here, the technique of cell fusion travelled via the Near East to Egypt, from where the art of cloisonné finally reached Europe via Greek connections during the pre-Roman Iron Age.

Towards the end of the Merovingian period in the 7th century, the characteristic cloisonné work in the Germanic area gradually declined in favour of enamel work and was finally only widespread in Scandinavia and Byzantium, until this fashion finally disappeared from these areas in the 9th century.