Fibula with Solar Design

Description

The crescent body of this bronze fibula (brooch) features both incised and punched decoration. Three sets of three arrows have been interpreted as indicating the daily route of the sun, shown at the arc’s center as a series of radiating punch marks within a shallowly incised circle. When worn, the arc may have hung downward, a large ornamental addition to the functional pin used to secure its wearer’s clothing.

Provenance

(Kunst der Antike, Basel, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (-1999); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1999-)

Fibula with Solar Design

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c. 700–675 BCE

Accession Number

1999.9

Medium

bronze

Dimensions

Overall: 15.4 x 11.2 cm (6 1/16 x 4 7/16 in.)

Classification

Metalwork

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund