Fibula (Knotenfibel)

1 of 2

Artist
Name	Unknown
Basic Info
Period	Roman Republican period
Created in	Ancient & Byzantine World, Europe
Century	1st century BCE
Culture	European
Dimensions	2.1 x 8.3 cm (13/16 x 3 1/4 in.)
Harvard Museum
Department	Department of Ancient and Byzantine Art & Numismatics
Division	Asian and Mediterranean Art
Contact	am_asianmediterranean@harvard.edu

Context

This fibula (an example of a “Knotenfibel”) has a small trumpet-shaped head that is attached directly to a four-coil spring; the pin may be a modern repair or an ancient pin that does not belong with the object. The bow is slender, circular in section, and decorated with raised discs. Instead of being a folded sheet, the catchplate has a triangular cutout on its side (1).
 
NOTES:
 
1. Compare E. Ettlinger, Die römischen Fibeln in der Schweiz (Bern, 1973) 48-54 (type 8), pl. 4.1-4; R. Hattatt, Brooches of Antiquity: A Third Selection of Brooches from the Author’s Collection (Oxford, 1987) 26-29, nos. 748-50; and S. Demetz, Fibeln der spätlatène- und frühen römischen Kaiserzeit in den Alpenländern, Frühgeschichtliche und provinzialrömische Archäologie, Materialien und Forschungen 4 (Rahden, 1999) 27-38, pl. 2.3.
 
Lisa M. Anderson

TechnicalDetails

Chemical Composition

Technical Observations

The patina is green with light gray accretions. The pin is bent and deformed, and a modern solder join repairs a break where it meets the spring and holds it tight in the catchplate. The surface is partially preserved. 
 
The spring and pin were hammered into shape and inserted into a hole in the broad end of the bow. The bow and catchplate were cast, probably from a model made directly in wax. The finishing of the surfaces is obscured by corrosion products and accretions. The small hole in the head of the bow appears to be a small casting flaw in an otherwise solid casting.
 
Henry Lie (submitted 2012)

Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Dr. Harris Kennedy, Class of 1894