450–750: The Merovingians

Summary

As Fortunatus wrote of twisting, shimmering fish, he may well have had in mind artistic representations of fish like these brooches. Made of gold and silver with inlays of precious stone and glass, their bent forms would have sparkled in light, like Ausonius’ pebbles. This pair of stylized fibulae were made using a style closely connected to Frankish artisans – cloisonné. This style involves making intricate gold and silverwork pockets into which glass, enamel, and precious stones were inlaid. This style endured in the area around the Mosel to the extent that, by the end of the period covered in this book, Mosan cloisonné work was the gold standard for reliquaries and other religious objects.