Belluno Treasure

Belluno Treasure

Disc brooch from the Belluno Treasure displayed in the British Museum
Material	Gold and precious stones
Size	4.5 cm diameter (brooch)
Created	6th-7th Centuries AD
Period/culture	Lombardic
Present location	British Museum
Identification	AF.529

The Belluno Treasure is an important Lombardic hoard found at Belluno, Italy in the nineteenth century that has been part of the British Museum's collection since 1897.^[1]

Discovery

The hoard was apparently found in a grave near the town of Belluno in the province of Veneto, northern Italy. Dating to the late 6th or early 7th centuries AD, the rich grave group probably belonged to a female member of the Lombardic court. It was later purchased by the curator and philanthropist Augustus Franks, who bequeathed it to the British Museum in 1897.^[2]

Description

The Belluno Treasure is largely composed of gold and gem-encrusted jewellery. The style of decoration from the hoard reflect contemporary fashions in the Mediterranean. It includes two gold cross pendants (one with punched ornamentation), a gold and garnet cloisonné disc brooch, a finger-ring, a gold pin with a terminus in the form of a hand (which may have once held a pearl), and gold beads.

Gallery

• 

  Gold cross, which indicates that the person buried was Christian

• 

  Gold pin with terminus in the shape of a small hand

• 

  Finger ring with punched decoration

• 

  Another cross from the hoard with perforated loop

See also

• Artres Treasure
• Domagnano Treasure
• Sutri Treasure
• Bergamo Treasure

References

1. British Museum Collection
2. British Museum Highlights

Further reading

• S. Marzinzik, Masterpieces: Early Medieval Art (London, British Museum Press, 2013)
• N. Christie, The Lombards (Oxford, Blackwell, 1995)
• A. Castagnetti and G.M. Varanini (eds.), Il Veneto nel medioevo. Dalla (Verona, Banco Popolare di Verona, 1989)