Spectacle Fibula (Garment Fastener)

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Spectacle Fibula (Garment Fastener)

Place of OriginLikely Greece, possibly the region of Macedonia

Dateabout 8th century BCE

Dimensions2 1/4 × 1/8 × 5 1/8 in. (5.7 × 0.3 × 13 cm)

MediumBronze; forged and cast.

ClassificationJewelry

Credit LinePurchased with funds from the Libbey Endowment, Gift of Edward Drummond Libbey

Object number

1978.47

On View

Toledo Museum of Art (2445 Monroe Street), Gallery, 02, Classic

DescriptionThis large fastener is skillfully crafted from a single, continuous length of bronze wire that is rhomboidal in cross-section. The wire has been forged and hammered into two large, flat, counter-wound spirals. These spirals are joined at the center by a figure-eight loop, creating a symmetrical, spectacle-like appearance. The two ends of the original wire are fashioned on the reverse to form a functional pin and catch-plate.

Label TextFibulae have been used to fasten and adorn clothing since the early Mycenaean period in the 16th century BCE. Women would secure their dresses at the shoulders using these large fasteners. The artist worked the bronze wire into two coils joined by a figure eight in the middle. These fasteners were one of four principle bronze objects made in Greece during the Geometric Period, the others being tripods (see the bronze griffin in this case), small horses (an example is also displayed in this case), and small human figures.Comparative ReferencesSee also Blinkenberg, Chr. "Fibules Grecques et Orientales," Det Kgl. Danske Videnskabernes Selskab., Historiskfilodogiske Meddalelser, XIII, 1; 1926, section XIV, "Agrafes en spirales," pp. 253-262.

cf. Höckmann, Ursula, Antike Bronzen, Catalogue der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen, Kassel, no. 4, 1972, p. 17, no. 10, pl. 2, fig. 10.

cf. Sundwall, J., Die älteren italischen Fibeln, Berlin, 1943, pp. 50, 171.

cf. Alexander, J., "The Spectacle Fibulae of Southern Europe," The American Journal of Archaeology, LXIX, 1965, pp. 7-23.

cf. Rolley, Cl. Monumenta Graeca et Romana, vol. V, Greek Minor Arts, fasc. 1, The Bronzes, no. 179, fig. 179.

cf. Lullies, R., "Neuerwerbungen der Antikenabteilung der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Kassel 1966-1971," Archaeologischer Anzeiger, 1972, Heft 1, p. 17, no. 15a, fig. 27.