The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of February 15, 2025

Fibula (Pin)

Fibula (Pin)

400–200 BCE
Overall: 8 cm (3 1/8 in.)
Location: 102D Pre-Roman

Did You Know?

This fibula’s elaborate surface includes soldered gold wire and granulated spheres.

Description

This extravagant fibula, likely used to fasten garments, is decorated with gold rosettes and vines. An enormous leech-shaped bow and pin form the body of the fibula. A band of rosettes adorns the center of the bow. Above the bow, a gold plaque is adorned with an eight-petaled flower and palmette filigree. A gold bead, perhaps representing a pomegranate, tops the plaque. The bead is crowned with oblong petals and sprouting leaves.
  • ?-1936
    Dr. Arnold Ruesch, Switzerland
    1936
    (Galerie Fischer, Lucerne, Switzerland, September 1, 1936, Cat. No. 347)
    1936-1940
    (International Studio Art Corp.)
    1940-1940
    (Joseph Brummer, NY, sold to Numismatic Fine Arts)
    1940-1947
    Edward Gans, New York, NY sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1947-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Galerie Fischer. Griechische, etruskische und römische Altertümer: Vasen, Terrakotten, Bronzen (Ausgrabungen von Boscoreale), Silberfund, Gläser, Waffen, pompejanische Fresken, Schmuck, Mumienporträt, Goldmünzen; Marmorfiguren und Reliefs (Venus Anadyomene; Alexander-Schlactrelief usw.); römische Tische, Sarkophag und anderes antikes Kunstgewerbe. 1936. Cat. No. 347
    The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. N4861 libmma.contentdm.oclc.org
    Neugass, Fritz. "Kostbarer Schmuck der Alexandreneschen Zeit," Die Weltkunst (January 15, 1966). p. 46
    Milliken, William M. "Exhibition of Gold." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 34, no. 9 (1947). p. 219 www.jstor.org
    Wunderlich, Silvia A. "A Gold Fibula." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 35, no. 6 (1948). pp. 104-106 www.jstor.org
    Milliken, William M. "The Art of the Goldsmith," Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Vol. VI, No. 4 (June 1948). p. 313, fig. 2
    Wunderlich, Silvia. "A Gold Fibula," The Art Quarterly (Autumn 1948). p. 370 & 373
    Gems and Geology (Summer 1949). Cover
    Hoffmann, Herbert, and Patricia F. Davidson. Greek Gold; Jewelry from the Age of Alexander. 1965. p. 204, No. 80
    Kozloff, Arielle P. Classical Art: A Brief Guide to the Collection, the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Museum, 1989. p. 14
    Pfrommer, Michael. Untersuchungen zur Chronologie früh- und hochhellenistischen Goldschmucks. Tübingen: E. Wasmuth, 1990. p. 222, no. 1544, p. 424
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991 Reproduced: p. 10 archive.org
    Bates, Kenneth Francis. The Enamelist. Middlebourne, WV: Wooden Porch Books, 1991. p. 9, fig. 4
  • Echoes from Olympus: Reflections of Divinity in Small-Scale Classical Art. University of California, Berkeley. University Art Museum, Berkeley, CA (organizer) (August 15-December 15, 1974).
    Greek Gold: Jewelry from the Age of Alexander. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Nov. 18, 1965-Jan. 2, 1966); The Brooklyn Museum, New York (Jan. 19-Feb. 28, 1966); Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond (March-May 1966).
    Greek Gold: Jewelry from the Age of Alexander. Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Boston, MA (organizer) (November 22, 1965-January 2, 1966); The Brooklyn Museum (January 20-March 9, 1966); Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (March 28-May 1, 1966).
    Jewelry Techniques Past and Present. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 3-April 4, 1956).
    Exhibition of Jewellery. Portland Art Museum (November 21 - December 28, 1952).
  • {{cite web|title=Fibula (Pin)|url=false|author=|year=400–200 BCE|access-date=15 February 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1947.504