Frankish Bird Brooch

Replica of a Frankish bird brooch.

This Frankish bird brooch dates back to the middle of the 6th century AD and thus to the Merovingian period.

The original bird brooch was made of gold-plated silver with inlays of red garnet and comes from a rich frankisg woman's grave in the Flemish village of Witternesse in the Pas-de-Calais. They are part of the collection of the Comtesse de Béhague.

Link to the original bird brooch...

On the back of the medieval bird brooch is a sturdy pin with a typical spiral construction.

Like the original, the Frankish bird brooch replica measures 3.3 x 1.8 cm.

You can buy the brooch replica in high-quality bronze or genuine silver-plated.
Alternatively, you can also order it in 925 sterling silver (please note delivery time).
Alloy...

In the 5th and 6th centuries, such bird brooches in the shape of stylised eagles were part of the women's costume of the Frankish Merovingians. These bird brooches were a status symbol of wealthy Merovingian women and were usually worn as a pair.

In combination with another pair of brooches for the lower part of the garment, these four brooches formed the so-called Merovingian four-brooch garb, which was widespread among Franks and Alamanni in the Early Middle Ages.

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Small brooches with garnet inlays in the form of eagles cast in profile were common in the areas controlled by the Frankish Merovingians in the 6th century and were worn by women as a piece of personal jewellery.

This variant of the bird brooch with a small upper wing, a body hump and a claw is known as the Vorges type, after a site found in the Aisne in northern France. Bird brooches of the Vorges type are found in graves dating from 520 to 555 AD. They were widespread in northern France, the Rhine region and southern Germany, with variants also appearing in England.

The Germanic bird brooches probably depicted eagles and were originally modelled on the Roman imperial eagle. The brooches thus signalled affiliation to the empire or Roman culture and were worn by women of high social status.