Versatile Jewelry Inspired by Celestial Motifs in The Met Collection

Artists have looked to the cosmos for time immemorial, as is evident in the abundance of celestial motifs throughout The Met collection. These timeless subjects unite virtually all cultures, past and present, serving as endless sources of symbolic, spiritual, and aesthetic inspiration. 

This season, we’re delighted to introduce the Spanish Day and Night jewelry to our assortment of celestial-themed designs at The Met Store. 

The motifs come from a type of print called a broadside, depicting 48 allegorical figures pertaining to the sun and the moon. Now in The Met collection, this particular example was printed about 1860–70 by Juan Llorens (Spanish, active ca. 1855–70), an active publisher of broadsides in Barcelona. 

Broadsides were issued by the thousands and sold on the street or in publishers’ shops beginning in 16th-century Europe. These inexpensive sheets of small images, made to entertain the buyer with depictions of current news, children’s games, popular tales, and so on, were so well received that certain printing presses made them their specialty. Many early broadsides have been lost due to their ephemeral nature, but plenty others survive in the Museum’s holdings.

Numerous treasures bearing diverse interpretations of the sun, moon, and stars are a fan favorite at The Met Store. 

Our Ottoman Star Antiqued Silver Brooch (shown above) celebrates the diamond decoration on a fabulous sword and scabbard (shown below) in the Museum’s collection of arms and armor. This spectacular set was created by Indian, Iranian, and Turkish artisans in the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, and probably assembled by a court jeweler. 

The emerald near the top of the scabbard opens to reveal a secret compartment containing a gold coin marked with the name of Süleyman the Magnificent (1494–1566), the most powerful Ottoman ruler of the 16th century. Underneath, the gem is inscribed with the phrase, "According to God's will." The most important ceremony in the inauguration of many Islamic rulers was the investiture with such a sword.

Drawing from the Museum’s Michael C. Rockefeller Wing devoted to the arts of Africa, the Americas, and Oceania, this handsome lacquer tray recalls a late 19th–early 20th century Indonesian ceremonial mat called a lampit. Crafted for spiritual leaders who presided over important ritual gatherings, lampits were woven from finely split cane fibers and adorned with burnt patterns made with a heated stylus. This particular mat features crescent moons amid birds in flight, mapping the connection between Indonesia's elite rulers and the cosmic order. 

A 4th–5th-century Hunnic or Frankish pendant in the Museum’s Medieval Art collection informs our Celestial Amulet Necklace, a starry orb embellished with 24K gold plate, sodalite, Czech glass, and Swarovski® crystals.

The original amuletic pendant—a striking rock-crystal sphere encased in gold—was likely imbued by its owner with certain powers, as amulets were believed to bestow strength or protection upon the wearer.

The perfect gift for yourself or a loved one, this bracelet deconstructs a stained-glass roundel (1390) at The Met Cloisters. 

Crafted in a large court workshop in Niederösterreich, Austria—which specialized in elongated figures positioned in profile, heavy masses of drapery, and an unusually rich range of colors—the roundel was originally installed in the castle at Ebreichsdorf near the Hungarian border. Having withstood attacks by the Mongols in the 13th century followed by the Turks in the 17th century, the castle never returned to its medieval splendor; with the exception of a surviving panel in Vienna, the windows housed at The Cloisters are all that remain of the structure's magnificent glasswork.

Shop the full Spanish Day and Night jewelry collection and more celestial-inspired designs in-store and online.