Hat badge, France, ca. 1500-1525
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
ca. 1500-1525
Hat badge in the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (museum number 473-1873), made in France, dated ca. 1500-1525. The museum's brief description reads: Hat Badge, gold, enamelled, with the head of St John the Baptist on a platter, French, ca.
1500-1525. Museum description: Hat badge, gold, enamelled. The circular badge with a cabled wire border, between cabled edging an openwork inscription 'INTER* NATOS* MVLIERVM* NON* SVREXSIT*' (Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen [a greater than John the Baptist]' The inscription with remains of white opaque enamel, the florets between words with remains of green enamel. The central disc with the severed head of St John the Baptist on a fluted platter.
The high relief head of the saint in white and gold enamel en ronde bosse, the platter with translucent red enamel. On the reverse are traces of a lead solder and traces ofattachment loops The museum records it as Gold, cast and enamelled, measuring Depth 0.8 cm; Diameter 4.2 cm. These details come from the museum's own record; how far this object represents a wider collectible type has not yet 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.
Historical context
This jewel depicts a traditional representation of St John the Baptist in disco. St John the Baptist criticised Herod Antipas because he married his own brother's wife, Herodias. Marrying one's brother's wife while he is still alive is not allowed by Jewish law. St John the Baptist was then jailed. At his birthday supper, Herod asked Salome, the young daugther of Herodias, to dance before him. Charmed by the beauty of her dance, the king said to her, "Ask of me whatsoever you will and I will give it to you... unto half my kingdom." Asking her mother first, Salome asked for the head of John the Baptist on a platter in revenge for the embarrassment that John had caused. In the Middle-Ages the cult of the saint was very popular, especially after 1206 when the head of the saint - apart from the lower maxillary - had been transferred from Constantinopolis to Amiens in Normandy, which became one of the most popular pilgrimage sites for worshipping the Saint in the late Middle Ages. Tradition has it that Herodias was so furious with John that she hit his severed head with a blade. This wound is seen on the relic at Amiens, and also on this jewel. Numerous other sites possessed relics associated with John and from the beginning of the 13th c. images of the saint proliferated across Europe in many media. The macabre representation of his head on a platter was very common. Another reason for the popularity of the image of the saint may be found in the nature of the piety at the end of…
Physical characteristics
- Material
- gold, enamel
- Dimensions
- Depth 0.8 cm; Diameter 4.2 cm
Technical characteristics
- Technique
- Gold, cast and enamelled
- Place recorded
- France
Design
- Inscriptions recorded
- 'INTER* NATOS* MVLIERVM* NON* SVREXSIT*'
Identification
- Museum object name
- Hat badge
- Museum object number
- 473-1873
- Museum system number
- O114842
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: confirm the wider type, maker and catalogue references against a specialist reference.