Bit Boss
Unknown Artist
Bit bosses were ornamental elements decorating both sides of a horse bit. This boss, embossed on its center with a stylized scallop, bears stamped on its rim a proverb in French, partly illegible. It belongs to a large group of bosses, some inscribed with proverbs, produced in Northern France or in the Southern Netherlands during the 16th century.
Credit: Gift of Stephen V. Grancsay, 1942
First half 16th century
Copper alloy
10.6cm
42.50.227
Image and text © Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2019
Where you'll find this
The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Permanent collection