The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of February 15, 2025

Fibula (Pin)
400–200 BCE
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.- ?-1936Dr. Arnold Ruesch, Switzerland1936(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)1940-1947Edward Gans, New York, NY sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art1947-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. 347The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. N4861 libmma.contentdm.oclc.orgNeugass, Fritz. "Kostbarer Schmuck der Alexandreneschen Zeit," Die Weltkunst (January 15, 1966). p. 46Milliken, William M. "Exhibition of Gold." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 34, no. 9 (1947). p. 219 www.jstor.orgWunderlich, Silvia A. "A Gold Fibula." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 35, no. 6 (1948). pp. 104-106 www.jstor.orgMilliken, William M. "The Art of the Goldsmith," Journal of Aesthetics and Art Criticism Vol. VI, No. 4 (June 1948). p. 313, fig. 2Wunderlich, Silvia. "A Gold Fibula," The Art Quarterly (Autumn 1948). p. 370 & 373Gems and Geology (Summer 1949). CoverHoffmann, Herbert, and Patricia F. Davidson. Greek Gold; Jewelry from the Age of Alexander. 1965. p. 204, No. 80Kozloff, Arielle P. Classical Art: A Brief Guide to the Collection, the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Museum, 1989. p. 14Pfrommer, Michael. Untersuchungen zur Chronologie früh- und hochhellenistischen Goldschmucks. Tübingen: E. Wasmuth, 1990. p. 222, no. 1544, p. 424The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991 Reproduced: p. 10 archive.orgBates, 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