Limons gold disc
Type:
Plaques
Date:
Late sixth or early seventh century
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
France
Dimensions:
Diameter of 6.3 cm
Description:
This gold disc with garnet inlays from the Merovingian era was discovered at Limons in modern-day France. At the center is the face of Christ, identifiable by his cross-nimbus. The disc has other clues to the Christian nature of the motifs. It includes the Christogram, or chi-rho (the monogram of Christ in which the first two letters of "Christ" in Greek, Χ + Ρ, are superimposed; the Ρ is rendered as an R and the X is implied in the overall design). It also includes the Alpha (Α) and omega (ω), the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, here referring to the book of Revelation (also called the Apocalypse), in which Christ says, "I am Alpha and Omega."
The exterior of the disc features what scholars call Style II Animal Art, a type of Germanic ornament common to the period. The disc has no elements to suggest that it was originally a brooch. It may instead have been part of a purse-shaped reliquary.
The exterior of the disc features what scholars call Style II Animal Art, a type of Germanic ornament common to the period. The disc has no elements to suggest that it was originally a brooch. It may instead have been part of a purse-shaped reliquary.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
3
Repository and Online Resources:
• This object is now in the Cabinet des médailles of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris.
Image Credits:
Wikimedia Commons
