Global Characteristics

Title:

Belt Buckle made frome copper alloy

Place of discovery:

Craywick, Hauts-de-France, France

Date:

Middle Ages (XII-XIIIth century)

Dimensions:

2,6cm height, 5cm width

Materials:

Copper alloy and enamel

Description

Both a functional accessory and an object of adornment, the belt buckle served as a visible indicator of the wearer's social status and wealth.

The decoration portrays an armed knight wielding a sword in his left hand and a shield in his right. Kneeling on one knee, he appears to be defending himself, arrested in a moment of combat.

Created using the champlevé enamelling technique, in mhich recesses are cut into the metal and filled with enamel while the design is left in relief, this object belongs to a group of similar finds from the Dunkirk region, including examples discovered at Craywick.

The background of the composition is rendered in blue enamel, while the shield is green and outlined in yellow. The knight's head, executed in relief, is a separately applied element. The frame is decorated with a guilloché pattern and retains traces of gliding.

The imagery of the buckle alludes to the feudal culture that profoundly influenced the inhabitants of the Maritime Plain during the medieval period.

© Yves Dal Canton, Inrap