Fibula (Pin) (300s BCE): Art, History and Details

Fibula (Pin) (300s BCE) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This gold fibula consists of a leech-shaped bow attached to a pin, a plaque, and a biconical bead. A nine-petaled flower tops the bead. The fibula was likely used to fasten clothes by gathering fabric together. Unlike silver and bronze, gold does not easily tarnish.

Object facts

• Title: Fibula (Pin)
• Date: 300s BCE
• Culture: Etruscan
• Type: Jewelry
• Technique: gold
• Dimensions: Overall: 4.2 cm (1 5/8 in.)
• Collection: GR - Etruscan
• Department: Greek and Roman Art
• Accession number: 1974.17

A detail from the museum

This fibula was cast in three parts, the bow and pin, plaque, and bead, using the lost wax method.

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.