Getty Museum

Bronze Fibula Fragment

Date

725–700 B.C.

Medium

Bronze

Culture

Greek (Thessalian?)

Department

Jewelry

Institution

Getty Museum

The incised decoration on the catchplate of this fibula (pin) depicts a horse framed by a border of geometric patterns one side, and a meander pattern on the reverse. Used to fasten women's clothing, fibulae were popular votive offerings in sanctuaries, and may have been dedicated along with garments. Some examples, however, have been found in graves, suggesting they served a funereal as well as votive function. Similar fibulae with incised decoration are characteristic of types produced in Thessaly in northern Greece.

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