Large Bronze Fibula with Bone and Amber Disks

Fibula with amber beads; T 51; in situ Small bags of unincorporated bone disc and amber fragments, as well as a small piece of silver (unclear how that is part of the fibula). Stored with SF1150 - the pin fragment Large bronze fibula with a thin circular arch, decorated with several bone and amber discs. Two bone disks flank a central space that probably held a large amber piece. These thick bone discs are decorated with a row of circular depressions with small holes in the bottom. Two smaller similarly-decorated disks on either side show the remains of the amber studs that originally filled the circular depressions. Thin bone slivers are present on each side of the large bone discs. The catch and most of the pin of this fibula are not preserved and the central portion of the arch is broken. A 3.6cm bronze pin fragment (Δ1150) has been associated with the fibula and is likely part of the missing portion. The discs of amber and bone are particularly delicate and not all the elements are fully preserved. The amber discs are only preserved towards the foot, where they flank one of the smaller bone discs. It is probable that a large amber piece was in the central section, and the amber pieces and bone discs were symmetrical and arranged in descending order of size to mimic the curve of the fibula arch. The thin bone slivers are only preserved on both sides of one of the smaller bone discs and on one side of the other smaller bone disc. Small fragments of bone disk and amber that could not be incorporated during conservation support this interpretation. A small curved piece of silver has also been associated with this fibula but the reconstruction is unclear. Max. diam. of disc 4; L. 7. Comparanda: Discs of bone and amber on bronze fibulae are fairly common prestige items in Latin graves, from Period IIA onwards. Due to preservation issues, it can be hard to identify exact comparanda and such designs do not appear to be limited to one size of fibula or a specific number of bone discs or amber pieces. These particular decorations of the bone discs has no direct comparanda (cp: OdO 39b) but the closest comparanda can be found at Castel di Decima t.214 (DdA, pl. 17.39, pl. 22.3). For some representative examples, see OdO t.161.7, t.226.6, t.178.26; La Rustica t.238.16; t.81.16 (Baths of Diocletian). Date: Period III.

NVB Collection AAR

Sheira Cohenb

Conserved by Sara Carraro