Add to Collection

Add this item to an existing or new collection.
Harvard Art Museums
Incorrect Username, Email, or Password
This object does not yet have a description.

Identification and Creation

Object Number
1932.56.24
Title
Navicella Fibula
Classification
Jewelry
Work Type
pin, fibula
Date
7th century BCE
Places
Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe, Etruria
Period
Orientalizing period to Archaic
Culture
Etruscan
Persistent Link
https://hvrd.art/o/303963

Physical Descriptions

Medium
Bronze
Technique
Cast, lost-wax process
Dimensions
2.5 x 6.3 cm (1 x 2 1/2 in.)
Technical Details

Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Bronze:
Cu, 88.93; Sn, 9.2; Pb, 0.86; Zn, 0.109; Fe, 0.03; Ni, 0.06; Ag, 0.09; Sb, 0.28; As, 0.43; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, 0.008; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001

J. Riederer

Technical Observations: The patina features uneven green, red, and black corrosion. The green appears in the low areas between ridges, which are predominantly black. False corrosion and encrustation is present on the modern pin. The pin and spring are modern restorations and have been soldered onto the bow at both ends with a lead or tin solder or both. The bow of the fibula was cast, and the surface decoration was done in the model prior to casting.


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
1932.56.24
Division
Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact
am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
Permissions

The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes. To request a higher resolution file of this image, please submit an online request.

Descriptions

Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The fragmentary bow of this fibula is joined to a modern spring and pin but lacks its catchplate. The bow, concave on the underside, is decorated with raised horizontal lines along its length and shorter horizontal lines at each end before the brake (1). There are small spherical knobs on either side of the widest part of the bow (2).

NOTES:

1. Compare the decoration on A. M. Bietti Sestieri and E. Macnamara, Prehistoric Metal Artefacts from Italy (3500-720 BC) in the British Museum (London, 2007) 17, 189-90, and 233 (fibula type 26), no. 581.

2. Compare J. Jucker, Italy of the Etruscans, exh. cat., The Israel Museum (Jerusalem, 1991) 62, no. 60.

Lisa M. Anderson

Exhibition History

  • 32Q: 2540 Renaissance, Harvard Art Museums, Cambridge, 07/18/2018 - 11/15/2018

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