Ornamental Brooch
Unknown Artist
c. 100–300 CE
Medium
bronze and champlevé enamel
Dimensions
5.1 × 4.8 × 1.6 cm
Classification
Jewelry
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1930.232
About this artwork
These brooches functioned as garment clasps (much like the generally larger fibulae) and are distinctive for their decorative enamels. The art of enameling was highly popular among the conquered peoples who lived on the outskirts of the Roman empire, chiefly the Celts and the Gauls. Though the enameling technique was practiced by the Romans themselves on small objects, the brightly colored decoration readily appealed to "barbarian" taste. By the AD 200s, enameled brooches like these were being m...