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Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.23
Title
Navicella Fibula
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pin, fibula
Date
late 8th-early 6th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Period
Orientalizing period
Culture
Italic
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303794

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Copper alloy
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
6.2 x 8.5 cm (2 7/16 x 3 3/8 in.)
Technical Details

Technical Observations: The patina is predominantly brown over green, with pale green and tan in low areas; burial deposits are preserved on the interior of the bow. The fibula is missing a portion of the pin and catchplate, and numerous stress cracks are present in the spring. The body has an irregular shape along the edges due to fabrication and later losses.

The fibula was cast and then wrought. It appears that some of the surface design was done on the wax model prior to casting and some was done after casting and shaping the metal.


Carol Snow (submitted 2002)

Provenance

Recorded Ownership History
Dr. Harris Kennedy, Milton, MA (by 1932), gift; to the William Hayes Fogg Art Museum, 1932.

Acquisition and Rights

Credit Line
Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894
Accession Year
1932
Object Number
1932.56.23
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
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Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The exterior of the bow of this navicella fibula is decorated with horizontal lines above each terminal and elongated, deeply inscribed chevrons (1). The bow is open on the underside, exposing the hollow interior. Part of the pin, the spring, the bow, and part of the catchplate are preserved.

NOTES:

1. Compare H. Donder, Die Fibeln, Katalog der Sammlung antiker Kleinkunst des Archäologischen Instituts der Universität Heidelberg 3.2 (Mainz, 1994) 50-51, no. 27, pl. 5; A. Naso, I bronzi etruschi e italici del Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum, Kataloge vor- und frühgeschichtlicher Altertümer 33 (Mainz, 2003) 261-62, no. 478, fig. 165; and V. Palone, “Le fibule navicella,” in Il Museo delle Antichità Etrusche e Italiche 3: I bronzi della collezione Gorga, ed. M. G. Benedettini (Rome, 2012) 98-125, esp. 113, no. 338, pl. 18.

Lisa M. Anderson

Subjects and Contexts

  • Ancient Bronzes

Verification Level

This record has been reviewed by the curatorial staff but may be incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. For more information please contact the Division of Asian and Mediterranean Art at am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu