Harvard Art Museums > 1984.708: Plate Fibula Jewelry Collections Search Exit Deep Zoom Mode Zoom Out Zoom In Reset Zoom Full Screen Add to Collection Order Image Copy Link Copy Citation Citation"Plate Fibula , 1984.708,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Dec 25, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/304085. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1984.708 Title Plate Fibula Classification Jewelry Work Type pin, fibula Date 2nd-3rd century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World Period Roman Imperial period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/304085 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast, lost-wax process Dimensions 5.1 x 2.4 cm (2 x 15/16 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina on top of the plate is a rough and pitted green and brown over a black surface, while on the reverse it is predominantly pale green. The pin and part of the catchplate are missing. The fibula was cast. Inlays may be present in some of the geometric design, but they are poorly preserved and now appear as olive- and dark-green corrosion products. The pin was attached to the fibula plate with a hinge at one end. Carol Snow (submitted 2002) Acquisition and Rights Credit Line Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Mrs. Beatrice Kelekian in memory of her husband, Charles Dikran Kelekian Accession Year 1984 Object Number 1984.708 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 This plate fibula most likely originally bore enameled decoration that is now missing. The central diamond-shaped lozenge is molded into a checkerboard-pattern of separate areas where enamel would have been placed. A beaded line borders the lozenge. At each end of the fibula is a terminal with two concentric circle decorations and another smaller projection. The pin, now missing, was attached to the fibula by a hinge that is now fused, and the catchplate is partially broken. Fibulae of this type were common in the northern provinces of the Roman Empire (1). NOTES: 1. Compare A. Böhme, Die Fibeln der Kastelle Saalburg und Zugmantel (Munich, 1972) nos. 955-56 (956 resembles the Harvard fibula so closely it might be the same workshop); R. Hattatt, Brooches of Antiquity: A Third Selection of Brooches from the Author’s Collection (Oxford, 1987) 202-203 and 205, nos. 1099-1100, fig. 64; and id., Ancient Brooches and Other Artefacts: A Fourth Selection of Brooches Together with Some Other Antiquities from the Author’s Collection (Oxford, 1989) nos. 1101 and 1594. 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
