Disc brooch from Roman Britain
€190
available
Object number
AR3345D
| Object: |
Disc brooch from Roman Britain
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| Material: |
Bronze. Once probably with enamel inlays.
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| Period: |
Around 2nd century AD. Roman Imperial period. |
| Description: |
Disc shaped brooch. An outer bronze rim, a central small disc and a star-shaped bronze collar, that might have once held enamel inlays. On the back there are remnants of a spring mount and a catch plate. Hattatt saw a star pattern like here as a sunburst design in a fusion of Roman and Celtic art traditions. Based on a comparable find at Cold Kitchen Hill, Wiltshire, Great Britain, and the find spot of this brooch one can speculate that it was made by the Celtic Durotriges tribe. At the time of production, the Durotriges area was already incorporated into Roman Britain. |
| 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: |
17mm to 20mm long. Circa 2.9g.
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| Condition: |
Pin and catch plate are missing. There are traces of corroded iron on the backside. Minor damages and tiny defects on the rest of the body. If there were once enamel inlays, they are now missing. Overall good condition.
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| Provenance: |
Acquired by us in 2022 on the British art market. Exported under British export license no. PAU/01051/22. Previously in private British ownership. The brooch was found on 4 March 2020 on the Isle of Wight, Great Britain. The find was recorded and published in the national database Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS), entry number IOW-96DFC8.
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| References: |
Cf. Richard Hattatt, Ancient and Romano-British Brooches (1982), pp. 137, fig. 58, no. 118. And likewise Richard Hattatt, A Visual Catalogue of Richard Hattatt's Ancient Brooches (1989), p. 344, fig. 203, no. 118. |
| Literature: |
A superb and compact overview on the subject of ancient and later fibulae in general is given by R. Heynowski in his book "Fibeln - erkennen, bestimmen, beschreiben" (Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2012, German language).
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| Authenticity: |
We unconditionally guarantee the authenticity of every artefact, all items are subject to our lifetime return policy on authenticity.
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