Harvard Art Museums > 1984.709: Oval Enamelled 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"Oval Enamelled Fibula , 1984.709,” Harvard Art Museums collections online, Nov 05, 2024, https://hvrd.art/o/304086. Reuse via IIIF Toggle Deep Zoom Mode Download This object does not yet have a description. Identification and Creation Object Number 1984.709 Title Oval Enamelled Fibula Classification Jewelry Work Type fibula, pin Date 2nd-3rd century CE Places Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe Period Roman Imperial period Culture Roman Persistent Link https://hvrd.art/o/304086 Physical Descriptions Medium Copper alloy Technique Cast, lost-wax process Dimensions 3.4 cm (1 5/16 in.) Technical Details Technical Observations: The patina is a lumpy green, and there are areas of red corrosion. There is an unusual turquoise-colored material embedded in the iron corrosion products of the hinge pin. The fibula was cast and then inlaid with glass. The smaller, raised disc containing red glass appears to have been made separately and attached to the larger disc. The metal is too poorly preserved to see how the two pieces are attached. The now-missing pin was attached by means of a hinge. 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 1984.709 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 oval disc fibula is elaborately decorated with bands of enamel and copper alloy. There is a wide bronze band around the edge of the disc and around the center bezel. Between these bands, there is a ring of alternating sections of white and blue enamel around the disc. In the center of the disc, there is a raised bezel, edged in metal and with an incuse male bust to the left impressed into red enamel. The bust is stylized and indistinct but appears to be draped and has a large chin, small nose, prominent ear, and spiked hair (1). The same bust appears on similar disc fibulae. The pin, now missing, was attached to the fibula with a hinge, and the notched catchplate is intact. This fibula type is native to Britain, and the approximately 30 known examples are all fairly similar (2). NOTES: 1. R. Hattatt describes the bust on a similar example, found in Norfolk, UK, dated c. 300 CE, as a “Celtic type human head.” See id., Brooches of Antiquity: A Third Selection of Brooches from the Author’s Collection (Oxford, 1987) 252 and 257, nos. 1207-209; and id., Ancient Brooches and Other Artefacts: A Fourth Selection of Brooches Together with Some Other Antiquities from the Author’s Collection (Oxford, 1989) 184, no. 1653. 2. Hattatt 1987 (supra 1) 252. 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
