Roman Bronze Umbonate Brooch with Red Enamelling 2nd Century

Description

Heading: Roman Bronze Umbonate Brooch 2nd Century

Material: Bronze with enamelling

Period: Roman imperial

Date: c 2nd century AD

Origin: Roman provinces, possibly Romano-British or Gaul

Condition: VF, with enamelling and good detail, the pin is missing which is typical for Roman brooches of all types

Description: An  bronze umbonate brooch with triangles of red enamelling as decoration surrounded by a skirt of undulation edging also decorated with triangular cells of red glass. There is a loop to one end. The pin is missing which is a common issue where the pin was made from a ferrous metal that degraded first but the catch-plate and pin lug are both present. This is a larger and more ornate example than normally seen.

Size and Weight: 40mm, 13.14g 

References: R. Hattatt’s Ancient Brooches. p350 illustration 1061 for type, this is a much larger version.

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 brooch was probably decorative rather than functional. but may have been used at the shoulder to fasten Roman ladies tunics called the chiton or peplos.

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