Public collections at home and abroad possess a variety of examples of Gothic morses of exquisite design. One of the most remarkable of German workmanship of the fourteenth century is in the Musée Cluny at Paris;[85] while among the finest German jewels of the fifteenth century must be ranked a morse of beautiful execution in the Victoria and Albert Museum.[86] Other noteworthy examples are, three in the treasury of the cathedral of Aix-la-Chapelle, one of them[87] containing a representation of the Annunciation--a subject which, judging from the inventories, appears to have been a very favourite one for the purpose, particularly in England. Three more are in Paris: one--the beautiful morse of St. Louis--in the Galerie d'Apollon,[88] a second in the Rothschild Bequest[89] in the Louvre, and a third in the Dutuit Bequest.[90] In the Kunstgewerbe Museum at Berlin is a silver-gilt morse which was made in the year 1484 for Albert von Letelen, canon of Minden, by the goldsmith Reinecke van Dressche of Minden. It is a circular disc 5½ inches in diameter, filled with three elaborate Gothic tabernacles, each containing a figure. Entirely symmetrical in composition, it follows a design commonly found on the seals of the same date (Pl. XXII, 3). [85] Figured by Shaw, _Dresses and decorations_, Pl. 88, where it is erroneously described as the clasp of the Emperor Charles V. [86] Pollen, _Gold and silversmith's work in the S. Kensington Museum_, p. 98. [87] Beissel, _Kunstschätze des Aachener Kaiserdomes_, Pl. XIII. [88] Barbet de Jouy, _op. cit._, Pl. X. [89] Molinier, _Donation de Adolphe de Rothschild_, Pl. XIX. [90] Giraud, _Les arts du métal_, Pl. VII. An excellent idea of the extraordinary beauty of the morses in use at the close of the Middle Ages can be obtained from fifteenth-century paintings, particularly of the Flemish school. Few of the latter can surpass what is one of its finest examples in the National Gallery--Gerard David's beautiful picture of the "Canon and his Patron Saints," in which are displayed, in almost all their pristine freshness, some of the most magnificent representations of the jeweller's art. Besides these pectorals, which sometimes served a practical, but often a purely decorative purpose, there were various other ornaments that acted as clasps (_agrafes_). These _agrafes_ are similar to those still made use of in our day, working on a system of a hook fitting into a loop. Clasps for mantles were sometimes made of massive loops fastened on either side of the border of the mantle, like parts of a hinge, which could be clasped by a pin being thrust through them, or by a cord or strap. [Illustration: Mantle clasp (portion) on effigy of Henry IV (Canterbury Cathedral).]