Ask the Scholar
Document scope · 1 page
Scholar
Ask about this object, its catalog metadata, its source description, or the page inventory.
For page-specific OCR and visual context, open one of the page chats.
Source 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.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
112320
label
Belt for a Lady's Dress
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
112320
contentType
object
title
Belt for a Lady's Dress
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.
date
c. 1375–1400
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q60741691
genreSpecific
Jewelry
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 236.5 x 2.9 x 0.6 cm (93 1/8 x 1 1/8 x 1/4 in.)
cul
Italy, Siena(?)
accession
1930.742
Source extras
tec
basse-taille enamel and gilding on silver, silver thread, gilt-silver buckle, cast and chased
tombstone
Belt for a Lady's Dress, c. 1375–1400. Italy, Siena(?). 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
collection
MED - Gothic
relatedWorks
id
147761
description
Virgin and Child, c. 1315–20. France, Lorraine. Limestone with traces of polychromy and gilding; overall: 75.9 x 28 cm (29 7/8 x 11 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund, 1974.14
didYouKnow
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.
citations
citation
W. M. M. “Girdle of the Fourteenth Century.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 17, no. 3 (March 1930): 35–41.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 35-41
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 58
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 58
citation
Wixom, William D. “A Gothic Madonna from Lorraine.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 61, no. 10 (December 1974): 343–349.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 343-345, fig. 5
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 68
citation
Dillon, Emma. "Sensing Sound." In<em> A Feast for the Senses: Art and Experience in Medieval Europe </em>edited by Martina Bagnoli, Baltimore: Walters Art Museum, 2016.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 108
citation
Fuenmayor, Marta Redondo de. “La cultura material en el testamento de Leonor Pérez de Guzmán: joyas, textiles y ajuar doméstico como legado femenino en el siglo XIV.” <em>Goya</em>, n. 390 (September/December 2025): 216-233.
page_number
Mentioned and reproduced: p. 223
creditline
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust
updatedAt
2026-06-13 11:47:05.408000
sourceId
112320
dept
Medieval Art
coll
MED - Gothic
med
basse-taille enamel and gilding on silver, silver thread, gilt-silver buckle, cast and chased
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e5f7f1347557c8aa