The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 12, 2024

Tab

Tab

600s
iron with silver overlay
Overall: 9.1 x 5.8 cm (3 9/16 x 2 5/16 in.)
Gift of the John Huntington Art and Polytechnic Trust 1919.1009.b
Location: 106A Migration Period & Coptic

Description

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.
  • reportedly found in Champagne, France. (Paul Mallon, Paris).
  • Inaugural Exhibition. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (co-organizer) (June 6-September 20, 1916).
  • {{cite web|title=Tab|url=false|author=|year=600s|access-date=12 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1919.1009.b