Roman crossbow brooch
Price: on request
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Object number
AR3360-12
| Object: |
Roman crossbow brooch
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| Material: |
Bronze.
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| Period: |
340 AD to 380 AD. Late Roman. |
| Description: |
Roman brooch of the crossbow type. P-shaped fibula body with decorative niello inlays on the bow and foot. Crossbar at the head with onion-shaped knobs at the ends. An onion-shaped knob was once at the fibula head in extension of the central axis, but is now missing. The fastening hole can still be seen. Remnants of the original gilding can still be seen on parts of the body. It is a typical soldier's brooch of the Roman troops in the Balkan region, with great similarity to brooches from Viminacium (cf. Redic, plate XXXVII). |
| Background: |
Fibulae were more than just brooches or pins for fastening garments. They were jewellery and status symbol and were worn prominently near the shoulder. This explains the abundance of fashionable shapes and styles that can be observed with surviving ancient pieces. They vary with region, era and social background of the wearer. Modern archaeology uses that distinctiveness to quickly attribute an archaeological find whenever a fibula is part of it.
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| Dimensions: |
77mm long.
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| Condition: |
Pin and front decorative knob are missing. The rest of the body is in very good condition. Remains of the original gilding and niello inlays have been preserved. White inscription "2888" on the fibula. Includes original stand with inscription from the Hattatt collection.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us on the British art market in 2021. Exported under British export licence no. PAU/01443/22. Previously in the inventory of a British art dealer, acquired from the British collector Martin Schoyen. Mr. Schoyen purchased the fibula from the London antiquarian Bernard Quaritch. He bought it at the Christie's London auction on 7 July 1993, lot 72. Previously in the British private collection of Richard Hattatt, collection no. 2888. Acquired between 1970 and 1987 on the London art market. About Richard Hattatt: After retiring from the family business, Richard Hattatt devoted himself to collecting and studying antiquities. After a few years, focusing on the area of fibulae, one of the most important collections of ancient brooches from the region north of the Mediterranean emerged. In the years 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1989, four books were the fruit of a tireless analysis and work on the specimen in his collection. Those books are now regarded as standard works in the field of Iron Age and Roman brooches. When Richard Hattatt died in 1992, parts of his collection were already housed in the Ashmolean Museum (Oxford) and the Wiltshire Museum (Devizes). Other fibulae in the collection went to auction houses and into private collections. However, the enormous gain in knowledge through the systematic collecting activity, the drawings and the information consolidated by Hattatt has been preserved for posterity in his books. It is with the appropriate pride that we can offer you this fibula from Hattatt's collection and his books. |
| Publications: |
This fibula is published in a standard work for ancient brooches, Richard Hattatt, Brooches of Antiquity (1987), pp. 286, fig. 92, no. 1267. Note that the numbering in Hattatt's publications differs from the collection numbers written on the fibulae. The fibula is also published in the reference catalogue Richard Hattatt, A Visual Catalogue of Richard Hattatt's Ancient Brooches (1989), p. 369, fig. 228, no. 1267. |
| Literature: |
As an alternative to the works of Hattatt we can recommend the following book as an introduction and for referencing: R. Heynowski, Bestimmungsbuch Archäologie 1, Fibeln (2012). |
| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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