Hat Badge Mounted as a Pendant with the Flaying of Marsyas 1500 - 1886

Curator: What a striking piece! The gold, the detail… it's almost overwhelming. Editor: I agree. The sheer intensity is palpable. It feels both opulent and…brutal, doesn’t it? There's an unsettling narrative playing out there. Curator: Absolutely. What we are seeing here is a “Hat Badge Mounted as a Pendant with the Flaying of Marsyas." Its creation spanned a rather wide range of dates, from 1500 to 1886, and it resides here at The Met. Look at the meticulous carving and the enameled detailing. Editor: The subject matter, of course, gives one pause. The flaying of Marsyas is not a casual decorative theme. It signals power dynamics, perhaps even anxieties about artistic skill and its potential consequences, given Marsyas’ hubris in challenging Apollo. Curator: Indeed. Think about who might have worn such a pendant. A person of wealth and status, certainly, but also someone keen to display their classical knowledge, their familiarity with this rather gruesome mythological tale. This wasn't just jewelry; it was a statement. A powerful declaration of their place in the social hierarchy. Editor: And that power is undeniably implicated in a tradition of violence. Considering this piece today, what does it mean to aestheticize violence in the form of jewelry? Whose suffering gets to be immortalized, gilded even, and worn as a badge of honor? I wonder about the labor, too, in crafting this elaborate piece and whether this craftsperson could voice dissent? Curator: It invites reflection on so many facets of history and art's entanglement with power. Editor: For me, looking at it now, questions linger: what conversations can objects like these instigate about the politics of representation, the stories we choose to tell, and those we consistently overlook? Curator: Yes, its craftsmanship provides a window into past worlds that raises compelling questions that extend far beyond this gallery.