1978.495.40: Trumpet Fibula
JewelryIdentification and Creation
- Object Number
- 1978.495.40
- Title
- Trumpet Fibula
- Classification
- Jewelry
- Work Type
- pin, fibula
- Date
- 1st-2nd century CE
- Places
- Creation Place: Ancient & Byzantine World
- Period
- Roman Imperial period
- Culture
- Roman
- Persistent Link
- https://hvrd.art/o/310613
Physical Descriptions
- Medium
- Leaded bronze
- Technique
- Cast, lost-wax process
- Dimensions
- 5 x 2.5 x 0.6 cm (1 15/16 x 1 x 1/4 in.)
- Technical Details
-
Chemical Composition: ICP-MS/AAA data from sample, Leaded Bronze:
Cu, 80; Sn, 9.7; Pb, 8.73; Zn, 0.959; Fe, 0.21; Ni, 0.05; Ag, 0.2; Sb, 0.15; As, less than 0.10; Bi, less than 0.025; Co, less than 0.01; Au, less than 0.01; Cd, less than 0.001
J. RiedererTechnical Observations: The fibula has an uneven green and gray surface. The pin is missing, and the headloop is missing from the top of the fibula. The bow was made by casting, and the clasp was hammered. The pin broke off at the hammered wire coil, which is wrapped around a transverse rod.
Carol Snow (submitted 2002)
Provenance
- Recorded Ownership History
- Formerly in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Harvard University, no. E-2266.
Acquisition and Rights
- Credit Line
- Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Transfer from the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University
- Accession Year
- 1978
- Object Number
- 1978.495.40
- Division
- Asian and Mediterranean Art
- Contact
- am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu
- Permissions
-
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Descriptions
Published Catalogue Text: Ancient Mediterranean and Near Eastern Bronzes at the Harvard Art Museums
The oval head of this fibula was decorated by a wire loop that is now broken (1). The pin is also missing, broken at the spring. A raised circular stud with a raised central point decorate the top of the bow, and the end of the catchplate is modeled into a pointed knob (2).
A chain would have gone through the loop at the head of the fibula to connect it with another fibula so that it could have been worn as part of a pair.
NOTES:
1. Compare R. Hattatt, Brooches of Antiquity: A Third Selection of Brooches from the Author’s Collection (Oxford, 1987) 124-38, esp. no. 950, fig. 42; S. Ortisi, Die früh- und mittelkaiserzeitlichen Fibeln, Römische Kleinfunde aus Burghofe 2 (Rahden, 2002) 34, no. 282, pl. 17; and D. Mackreth, Brooches in late Iron Age and Roman Britain (Oxford, 2011) 120-21, nos. 5171 and 5288, pl. 82.
2. The stud is similar to those that appear on headstud fibulae, although the placement differs; see Mackreath 2011 (supra 1) 111, no. 5665, pl. 76.
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