Rare Roman Bronze and Enamelled Frog Brooch or Fibula, Pin Intact 1st Century AD

Description

Material: Bronze with enamelling

Period: Roman imperial

Date: 1st century AD

Origin: Roman provinces. possibly Romano-British or Gaul. from an old Essex collection. prior to that. a British collection.

Condition: VF+. with enamelling and good detail. Rare.

Description: An exquisite bronze zoomorphic plate brooch shaped as a frog with legs tucked beside its body. There are triangular decorative cells with complete red enamelling to the back and dark blue glass inlaid eyes. The pin and catch-plate are intact which is rare. A lovely piece.

Size and Weight: 32.7mm x 19.7mm. 7.1g 

References: Nigel Mills. Celtic & Roman Artefacts. p. 59. cf R150

Features and Provenance: Brooches as clothes fasteners have been made since the bronze age. As skills and metallurgy advanced. so did the size and detail of the fibulae. They were still used by the Romans. as buttons had yet to be invented. The pin. also of bronze. is unusually intact and the brooch was probably decorative rather than functional. due to its small size. 

The property of an Essex collector

Condition Summary. This varies with the age of the artefact and there are grades between

Extremely Fine (EF). Very slight traces of wear. all parts of pattern etc present. visible and clear

Very Fine (VF). Some signs of wear on the higher parts of the relief. all parts of pattern etc present. but may be worn

Fine (F). Wear on the artefact and parts of item and pattern etc may be missing or not visible