diff --git a/modules/field/field.crud.inc b/modules/field/field.crud.inc
index a6aaab1..313be90 100644
--- a/modules/field/field.crud.inc
+++ b/modules/field/field.crud.inc
@@ -591,6 +591,7 @@ function _field_write_instance($instance, $update = FALSE) {
     $display += array(
       'label' => 'above',
       'type' => isset($field_type['default_formatter']) ? $field_type['default_formatter'] : 'hidden',
+      'limit' => FALSE,
       'settings' => array(),
     );
     if ($display['type'] != 'hidden') {
diff --git a/modules/field/field.default.inc b/modules/field/field.default.inc
index cb49bdb..c262361 100644
--- a/modules/field/field.default.inc
+++ b/modules/field/field.default.inc
@@ -221,6 +221,7 @@ function field_default_view($entity_type, $entity, $field, $instance, $langcode,
           '#field_name' => $field['field_name'],
           '#field_type' => $field['type'],
           '#field_translatable' => $field['translatable'],
+          '#field_limit' => $display['limit'],
           '#entity_type' => $entity_type,
           '#bundle' => $bundle,
           '#object' => $entity,
diff --git a/modules/field/field.module b/modules/field/field.module
index af9e8c8..0746eb9 100644
--- a/modules/field/field.module
+++ b/modules/field/field.module
@@ -1031,6 +1031,12 @@ function template_preprocess_field(&$variables, $hook) {
   $variables['label_hidden'] = ($element['#label_display'] == 'hidden');
   $variables['label'] = $variables['label_hidden'] ? NULL : check_plain($element['#title']);
 
+  // Check whether we need to reduce the number of items to display.
+  $field_limit = $element['#field_limit'];
+  if ($field_limit && count($element['#items']) > $field_limit) {
+    $element['#items'] = array_slice($element['#items'], 0, $field_limit);
+  }
+
   // We want other preprocess functions and the theme implementation to have
   // fast access to the field item render arrays. The item render array keys
   // (deltas) should always be a subset of the keys in #items, and looping on
diff --git a/modules/field_ui/field_ui.admin.inc b/modules/field_ui/field_ui.admin.inc
index b594fac..6dc2067 100644
--- a/modules/field_ui/field_ui.admin.inc
+++ b/modules/field_ui/field_ui.admin.inc
@@ -956,6 +956,24 @@ function field_ui_display_overview_form($form, &$form_state, $entity_type, $bund
       'settings_edit_form' => array(),
     );
 
+    if (isset($field['cardinality']) && $field['cardinality'] != 1) {
+      $table[$name]['format']['type']['#prefix'] = '<div class="display-limit">';
+      $table[$name]['format']['type']['#suffix'] = '</div>';
+      $table[$name]['format']['limit'] = array(
+        '#size' => 2,
+        '#type' => 'textfield',
+        '#title' => t('Limit number of items to display for @title', array('@title' => $instance['label'])),
+        '#title_display' => 'invisible',
+        '#default_value' => $display['limit'],
+        '#prefix' => '<div class="display-limit">',
+        '#suffix' => '</div><div class="clearfix"></div>',
+        '#attributes' => array(
+          'alt' => t('Enter a number to limit the number of items to display. Leave empty to display them all.'),
+          'title' => t('Enter a number to limit the number of items to display. Leave empty to display them all.'),
+        ),
+      );
+    }
+
     // Formatter settings.
 
     // Check the currently selected formatter, and merge persisted values for
@@ -1296,6 +1314,7 @@ function field_ui_display_overview_form_submit($form, &$form_state) {
       'type' => $values['type'],
       'weight' => $values['weight'],
       'settings' => $settings,
+      'limit' => isset($values['format']['limit']) && is_numeric($values['format']['limit']) ? $values['format']['limit'] : FALSE,
     );
     field_update_instance($instance);
   }
diff --git a/modules/field_ui/field_ui.css b/modules/field_ui/field_ui.css
index c25d2a4..2e6dd9c 100644
--- a/modules/field_ui/field_ui.css
+++ b/modules/field_ui/field_ui.css
@@ -39,6 +39,10 @@ table.field-ui-overview tr.region-add-new-title {
   float: left;
   margin-right: .5em;
 }
+#field-display-overview .display-limit {
+  float: left;
+  margin-right: .5em;
+}
 #field-display-overview .field-formatter-settings-edit-wrapper {
   float: right;
 }