id: 112320 accession number: 1930.742 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1930.742 updated: 2022-09-12 09:13:49.659000 Belt for a Lady's Dress, c. 1375–1400. Italy, Siena?, 14th century. Basse-taille enamel and gilding on silver, silver thread, gilt-silver buckle, cast and chased; overall: 236.5 x 2.9 x 0.6 cm (93 1/8 x 1 1/8 x 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1930.742 title: Belt for a Lady's Dress title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: c. 1375–1400 creation date earliest: 1370 creation date latest: 1405 current location: 110A Italian Gothic creditline: Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust copyright: --- culture: Italy, Siena?, 14th century technique: basse-taille enamel and gilding on silver, silver thread, gilt-silver buckle, cast and chased department: Medieval Art collection: MED - Gothic type: Jewelry find spot: catalogue raisonne: --- CREATORS --- measurements: Overall: 236.5 x 2.9 x 0.6 cm (93 1/8 x 1 1/8 x 1/4 in.) state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS title: The Secular Spirit: Life and Art at the End of the Middle Ages opening date: 1975-03-28T04:00:00 The Secular Spirit: Life and Art at the End of the Middle Ages. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (March 28-June 16, 1975). --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE the belt belonged in the family of Prince Nicolas Mingrelsky date: footnotes: citations: --- fun fact: Look closely at the tiny scenes of courtly love on the plaques that adorn this belt. Given their size, these scenes were designed for the enjoyment of the woman who wore this belt over a sumptuous dress rather than an admirer from a distance. digital description: wall description: Because of its extraordinary richness, this belt (also known as a girdle) was both an ornament for the body and an object of great personal luxury. Almost eight feet in length, belts like this were at the height of fashion for both men and women. After being passed around the waist and through the buckle, one end of the belt would fall to the hem of the garment. The belt's many colorful enamel plaques are worked in translucent enamel over decoration engraved into the silver beneath (an enameler's technique known as basse-taille). Within the plaques and cast into the buckle are scenes of courtly love, musicians, and fantastic animals. A large number of translucent enamels were made for secular objects during the late Middle Ages--for use on jewelry, cups, garment clasps, and similar objects. This belt is a rare survival among these now scarce objects. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. page number: Reproduced: p. 58 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1966/page/n82 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. page number: Reproduced: p. 58 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1969/page/n82 The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. page number: Reproduced: p. 68 url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1978/page/n88 Dillon, Emma. "Sensing Sound." In A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe edited by Martina Bagnoli, Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2016. page number: Reproduced: p. 108 url: --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1930.742/1930.742_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1930.742/1930.742_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1930.742/1930.742_full.tif