Solid Sterling Silver with red enamel detailing.
Large sterling silver medieval brooch that was made according to the Merovingian gold disc of Limons, France.
The historical model for this medieval brooch is the Frankish gold disc of Limons, which dates to the Merovingian period between the last quarter of the 6th century and the first quarter of the 7th century. The original is now in the Cabinet des médailles of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.
The style of this Frankish disc brooch is known as animal style II, a Germanic art form that was widespread in that period. Red glass enamel accents make this piece extra special.
Like the historical model, the medieval brooch measures 6.3 cm in diameter.
History of the Brooch
The medieval gold disc of Limons is a masterpiece of craftsmanship from the Merovingian period and shows the face of Christ in the middle of a cross together with three wild boars surrounding him as if in a circle.
The background to this depiction is a statement by St Augustine of Hippo, for whom even animals, which humans categorised as harmful, useless or dangerous, were part of the beauty of creation.
This early medieval decorative disc also contains other references to the Christian faith. For example, the Christogram, the so-called Chi-Rho (the monogram of Christ), is worked into the openwork ornament, in which the first two letters of "Christ" in Greek, Χ + Ρ, are superimposed; the Ρ is depicted as an R and the X is indicated in the overall image of the disc.
The decorative disc also contains the letters Alpha (Α) and Omega (ω), the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, which refers to the Apocalypse in the Book of Revelation, in which Christ says: "I am Alpha and Omega", i.e. the beginning and the end of the world.
Round brooches of this size were not uncommon in the early Middle Ages and are documented several times in the Merovingian period.
The Limons brooch replica measures 2 1/2" x 2 1/2" and is made of high-quality solid sterling silver. On the back is a spring coil pin 2" long with a latch for secure wearing.
Weight: 44.62 grams of sterling silver.
