Magia ornamentu / Galeria / Bull-shaped fibula
Bull-shaped fibula
Chronology:
Roman period, second half of 2nd c. AD
Location:
Kraśnik-Piaski, Lubelskie, Poland; cemetery
Dimensions:
3.3 cm (length), 2.9 cm (height)
National Museum in Lublin
This fibula, i.e. a type of brooch in the shape of a safety pin that fastens pieces of garment, has a decorative bull’s head on its foot. Its geometric design consists of a round skull, an elongated tubular snout, and one horn. There is a crest on the head, on the spring side. The spring was a simple mechanism that allowed the pin movement. The item was made of bronze (copper alloy). Such zoomorphic fibulae are rarely found in burial sites associated with either the Przeworsk culture (linked to the Vandals) or the Wielbark culture (linked to the Goths).
