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brooch
Object Type
brooch
Museum number
AF.2767
Description
Brooch; gold; in the form of a pelican in her piety standing on a scroll; her breast set with a ruby; on the scroll a small bird, five attachments for gems, and set with a diamond; inscribed with the letters 'YMTH'.
Cultures/periods
Late Medieval
Production date
15thC
Production place
Made in:
France
(?)
Made in:
Belgium
(?)
Findspot
Excavated/Findspot:
Meuse, River (Belgium/France)
(reputedly)
Materials
gold
ruby
diamond
Dimensions
Height:
29.50 millimetres
Width:
35.80 millimetres
Depth:
13.30 millimetres
$Inscriptions
Curator's comments
Court fashion for animal jewels in late 15th Century : in 1447 Duke Amadeo VIII of Savoy commissioned thirteen pelican brooches as New Year gifts for his family, each one made of gold set with a ruby. See Robinson 2008, p. 72 for reference.
Bibliographic references
Tait 1976 / Jewellery Through 7000 Years
(no267)
Tait 1986a / Seven Thousand Years of Jewellery
(no325)
Robinson 2008 / Masterpieces of Medieval Art
(p. 72)
Clunas et al 2016 / Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400-1450
(p.241, pl.27.6)
Wise & Havili 2020 / Amber, Blood, and the Holy Face of Jesus: the Materiality of Devotion in Late Medieval Bruges
(Discussed pp. 329-330, reproduced as Fig. 12.5)
(The authors use this object to illustrate an argument that 'Medieval and Renaissance artisans have a long history of using red jewels to signify the Redeemer's precious blood.')
Location
On display
(G40/dc14/sA)
Exhibition history
Exhibited: 2019, 14 May-18 Aug, USA, Los Angeles, J Paul Getty Museum, Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World 2010 22 Jun-10 Oct, Spain, Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza, Domenico Ghirlandaio: Portrait of Giovanna Tornabuoni 1977 London, BM, Animals in Art
Subjects
myth/legend
bird
Associated names
Emblem of:
Jesus Christ
Acquisition name
Bequeathed by:
Sir Augustus Wollaston Franks
Acquisition date
1897
Department
Britain, Europe and Prehistory
Registration number
AF.2767
Conservation
Treatment
: 16 Jan 2009
Treatment
: 16 Jan 2009
Treatment
: 16 Jan 2009