Leech-Shaped Fibula (Safety Pin) with Glass Bow

Place of OriginItaly, attributed to Veii or Narce

Date7th century BCE

DimensionsL (pin): 3 3/8 in. (8.6 cm); L (glass from end to end): 1 7/8 in. (4.8 cm); L (bone from end to end): 7/32 in. (.7 cm)

MediumBronze, rod-formed glass, and bone

ClassificationJewelry

Credit LineGift of Robert F. Reichert

Object number

1986.82

Not on View

DescriptionA bronze fibula of the leech type featuring a swollen, arched bow composed of a rod-formed glass bead threaded onto the bronze wire. The glass element is dark brown (appearing black) and decorated with six longitudinal panels of opaque yellow festoons or arches derived from a marvered trail. Small bone disc spacers are positioned at either end of the glass runner, separating it from the bronze catchplate and spring. The bronze fixture includes a triple-coil spring and a long, pointed pin that secures into a concave catchplate. The catchplate exhibits an applied repair patch.

Label TextBefore the invention of glassblowing, glass was a rare, luxury material treated much like a gemstone. This fibula (safety pin) from the mid-7th century B.C. demonstrates the wealth of the Etruscan elite. Used to fasten a heavy woolen cloak at the shoulder, the bronze pin is embellished with a large "leech-shaped" glass bead. The glass artist created the decoration by winding hot glass trails around a core, then pressing them flat to form the yellow arched pattern against a dark ground. Such pins were often found in pairs in the tombs of high-status women in ancient Italy, serving as both functional fasteners and symbols of prestige during a period known for its appreciation of exotic materials. The Toledo fibula 1986.82 shares a unique arched pattern with the contemporary bead 1983.18.Published ReferencesGrose, David F., Early Ancient Glass: Core-formed, Rod-Formed, and Cast Vessels and Objects from the Late Bronze Age to the Early Roman Empire, 1600 B.c. to A.d. 50, New York, Hudson Hills Press in association with the Toledo Museum of Art, 1989, cat. no. 36, p. 87, repr. (col.) p. 70.

Koch, Leonie Carola, Die Glasbügelfibeln des 8. und 7. Jahrhunderts v. Chr. aus Etrurien: Ein Beitrag zur eisenzeitlichen Glastechnik und zu den Bestattungssitten des Orientalizzante (Universitätsforschungen zur prähistorischen Archäologie, Band 190), Bonn, Verlag Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, 2010, Kat.-Nr. 189.