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Tab
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
This tab would have been attached to a strip of leather worn around the waist. It was likely both an ornamental statement indicating social rank and a practical accessory. The decorative inlay was applied by forcing silver wire into a pattern engraved into the iron. The condition of the tab indicates that it was likely excavated, perhaps from a grave.
Cleveland Museum of Art’s own descriptionCredit lineTab, 600s. Frankish, Migration period. Iron with silver overlay; overall: 9.1 x 5.8 cm (3 9/16 x 2 5/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust, 1919.1009.b