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Description: | A complete copper alloy dragonesque brooch from the Roman period. The brooch consists of an S-shaped plate with an openwork body and pin looped around one neck. Each terminal takes the form of a sub-triangular curvilinear form with a comma shaped attachment with a raised central pellet. Each terminal may represent a head with large ears (see Bayley and Butchers discussion of the closely related but usually enamelled Dragonesque type of brooch, in "Roman Brooches in Britain: A Technological and Typological Study based on the Richborough Collection", 2004, p.123). One terminal has a groove which may represent a mouth The front of the brooch is in relief, whereas the reverse is flat. The openwork centre of the brooch consists of two joined comma shaped designs (c.f. Fox, 1956, Figure 82, p.33). In profile, the plate is broadly flat although the lower terminal is slightly inclined to the front. The pin is heavily curved in profile, and would have been secured by the neck at the other end of the brooch to where it is securely looped (see Bayley and Butcher, ibid.). The designs on the terminals and the openwork body are formed with both raised features and recessed grooves. The brooch is 53.9mm long, 30.0mm wide and 5.6mm thick (excluding the pin which is 47.7mm long). These are maximum dimensions. 20.6g. The brooch has a well developed green patina and is in exceptionally fine condition. In: "Roman Brooch Timeline", Worrell (2007) dates the dragonesque brooch to AD75-175. The Dragonesque brooch is usually enamelled, although openwork examples are known (e.g. see MacGregor, 1976, "Early Celtic Art in Northern Britain"). Bayley and Butcher (ibid.) state that the Flavian period (AD69-96) sees the virtual disappearance of imported brooches and the proliferation of types produced in Britain, continuing (for some types) into the second century (p.207). Bayley and Butcher state that Dragonesque brooches were presumably made in northern Britain where they are most numerous (ibid. p.172). Based on the above, the dragonesque brooch recorded here is likely to date from AD75-175.
Original Image | Publisher: | http://finds.org.uk | Source: | Portable Antiquities | Identifier: | http://finds.org.uk/database/artefacts/r... | Go to resource |
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