Button (Cleveland Museum of Art 1946.259)
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
500s
The decorative technique known as granulation had been used in Etruscan, Greek, and Roman jewelry well before this Byzantine piece was made. Granulation is when tiny spheres or “granules” are attached to a piece. It can be seen here in in a rock crystal button decorated with a six-pointed star, with a simply set garnet in the center. Cleveland Museum of Art object 1946.259: Button, 500s. Byzantium, early Byzantine period, 6th century. Rock crystal with a garnet mounted in a gold granulated star; diameter: 3.1 cm (1 1/4 in.). Details are those of this museum object; how far it represents a wider type has not been independently verified.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Physical characteristics
- Materials
- rock crystal with a garnet mounted in a gold granulated star
- Dimensions
- Diameter: 3.1 cm (1 1/4 in.)
- Measurements
- Diameter: 3.1 cm (1 1/4 in.)
- Material and technique
- rock crystal with a garnet mounted in a gold granulated star
Identification
- Date recorded
- 500s
- Culture period
- Byzantium, early Byzantine period, 6th century
- Holding institution
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Museum object number
- 1946.259
- Published references
- Milliken, William M. “Byzantine Jewelry and Associated Pieces.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 34, no. 7 (1947). p. 171 · Walters Art Gallery (Baltimore, Md.), and Dorothy Eugenia Miner. Early Christian and Byzantine Art, An Exhibition Held at the Baltimore Museum of Art, April 25-June 22 [1947]. Baltimore: Trustees of the Walters Art Gallery, 1947. cat. no. 459 · Gertsman, Elina and Barbara H. Rosenwein. The Middle Ages in 50 Objects . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2018. Mentioned: p. 110-113; Reproduced: p. 111
- Museum classification
- Jewelry
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: this record describes a single museum object; confirm maker, materials and date against decorative-arts references.