Title
Buckle. Castiltierra
Generic classification
MetalworkObject
BuckleDate
ca. 550Century
Mid 6th c.Cultural context / style
VisigothicDimensions
5 1/8 x 2 1/4 x 1/2 inIconography / Theme
Motivos geométricosProvenance
Visigothic Necropolis of Castiltierra (Castiltierra, Segovia, Spain)Current location
The Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, United States)Inventory Number in Current Collection
47.100.22Object history
From the late 1920s and early 1930s, numerous objects from the Visigothic necropolis of Castiltierra (Fresno de Cantespino, Segovia) began to appear on the market. The plundering was perpetrated mainly by some Castilterranians eager to make a fortune with the pieces, by the owner of the land and by Juan García Sánchez, who claimed to have discovered the site (Arias and Balmaseda, 2015). It is difficult to specify who was responsible for this piece leaving the country. Therefore, we put forward several hypotheses: first, we know that Félix Moreno, administrator of the estate, sent pieces to the owner of the land, who lived in Madrid. He was looking to make a lot of money from the find, so he contacted some dealers and antique dealers in Madrid to sell them the objects. On the other hand, we find a multifaceted figure such as Juan García Sánchez. Despite the apparent collaboration he gave to the Junta Superior de Excavaciones y Antigüedades (Superior Board of Excavations and Antiquities) by delivering some pieces from the site that he had bought from the Castilterranos, he also traded with them. The money he obtained from the National Archaeological Museum of Madrid seemed scarce, so he looked for other buyers who were willing to pay a higher amount.
Emilio Camps (1934) pointed out that they were appearing "in the antiquities market of Madrid abundant Visigothic specimens that were given as coming from Castiltierra". Therefore, if we consider Camps' words and the proximity of Madrid, it is most likely that the piece was found there before being sold abroad. In the early 1940s it was in the hands of Tomás Harris, son of Lionel Harris and Enriqueta Rodríguez y León. His father had founded in 1898 The Spanish Art Gallery, a firm dedicated to the sale of works of art, mainly from Spain. Lionel Harris had been in the gemstone and jewelry trade before focusing on the antiques trade. The Spanish Art Gallery was first managed by Lionel Harris, and later by his son Tomás Harris; the firm's headquarters were in London, although it also had an address in Madrid (Martínez Ruiz, 2018).
Subsequently, on November 5, 1945, the owner of the Brummer Gallery, Joseph Brummer, bought from The Spanish Art Gallery the following pieces from Castiltierra: "14 fibulae, 7 belt broaches, 2 small eagles, 1 small deer, 1 beed necklace, 3 pottery jars, 5 rings, 35 fragments and various nails etc" (The Brummer Gallery Records, P16076). Brummer died in 1947, at which time his estate was put up for sale. Thereafter the collection was dispersed.
Parke-Bernet Galleries acquired most of the pieces and auctioned them in May 1949 in lot 341: "Collection of Visigothic bronze ornaments, from Castilnueva. Comprising fourteen chased bronze fibulae with segmental heads; seven belt buckles; seven small rings ornamented with bosses; four plaquettes, of which two are inlaid with colored glass paste; twelve penannular bracelets; and fourteen small buckles, beads and other fragments" (Parke-Benet Galleries, 1949).
Another part of the set belonging to Brummer was purchased by the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It acquired on July 9, 1947 two fibulae and a buckle for $2,000 (The Brummer Gallery Records, P16076). Precisely, this was one of the pieces that the museum bought.
Description
It is a rectangular buckle with an oval loop and a tab attached to the plate by means of a folded flap (Ripoll, 2000). The plate is decorated with the cloisonné technique and has a central cabochon. Transparent glass and amber have been used for its ornamentation.
Locations
Mid VIth c. - Second quarter of the XXth c.
archeological site
Visigothic Necropolis of Castiltierra, Castiltierra (Spain)
Second quarter of the XXth c.
dealer/antiquarian
Art market, Madrid, Madrid (Spain) *
ca. 1940 - 1945
dealer/antiquarian
The Spanish Art Gallery, London, London (United Kingdom) *
1945 - 1947
dealer/antiquarian
Joseph Brummer, New York (United States) *
1947 - present
Bibliography
- ARIAS, Isabel y BALMASEDA, Luis Javier (2015): La necrópolis de época visigoda de Castiltierra (Segovia). Excavaciones dirigidas por E. Camps y J. M.ª de Navascués, 1932-1935. Materiales conservados en el Museo Arqueológico Nacional, Ministerio de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Madrid, pp. 14-22.
- CAMPS CAZORLA, Emilio (1934): "Tejidos visigodos de la Necrópolis de Castiltierra", nº II, Anuario del Cuerpo Facultativo de Archiveros, Bibliotecarios y Arqueólogos.
- MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, María José (2018): "The Spanish Art Gallery: su papel en la difusión y dispersión del arte hispánico", Recepción, imagen y memoria del pasado, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, p. 396.
- PARKE-BERNET GALLERIES (1949): Part Two of the notable art collection belonging to the estate of the late Joseph Brummer, Parke-Bernet Galleries, Nueva York, p. 82.
- RIPOLL, Gisela (2000): "Visigothic Jewelry of the Sixth and Seventh Centuries", en From Attila to Charlemagne: Arts of the Early Medieval Period in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Nueva York, pp. 192-194.
Record manager
Isabel Escalera FernándezCitation:
Isabel Escalera Fernández, "Buckle. Castiltierra" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/342
Buckle
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.
