The Branko belt

This beautiful textile takes its name from the Cyrillic letters within every third quatrefoil. They read BRANKO, which probably refers to Sebastocrator Branco Mladenovic, a magnate at the court of the Serbian Tsar Stefan Dušan (1331-55). Serbian aristocrats of this period are known to have worn very long and elaborate belts with looped ends and it is possible that this was such a piece.

The long narrow strip displays eighteen ogival quatrefoil frames, in which three motifs are repeated: a wyvern (two-footed dragon), a falcon and a crest consisting of a helm surmounted by the foreparts of an animal which resembles a bear. Each quatrefoil is separated by a panther's mask. Trefoil leaves decorate the space to the sides.

The base textile is crimson silk in a twill weave. The lower five quatrefoils, on a salmon pink silk, are stylistically slightly different. The details are embroidered in either silk or metal threads. The silk threads are gold, dark blue, crimson, and pea green; the black threads filling the letters have rotted away. The metal threads are all formed from hammered silver-gilt wire. Two colours of gilded wire were used - white for borders and outlining and yellow wire for the animals and backgrounds.