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Disk Fibula
While most disk fibulae are decorated with filigree, this one was made by the technique of repoussé, in which metal foil is impressed from the rear to form a raised design. The gilt silver foil, decorated with C-shaped scrolls and raised beaded outlines, is attached by four rivets onto a circular bronze base and set with four triangular-cut garnets arrayed around a green glass bead. The corroded remains of an iron clasp on the reverse once fasten the fibula to clothing and still hold imbedded wool cloth fibers. A Frankish man would have used a fibula like this one to pin his cloak at the right shoulder.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Carlebach Gallery, New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1959, by purchase.
Exhibitions
| 1984-1987 | Objects of Adornment: Five Thousand Years of Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, New York; Chrysler Museum of Art, Norfolk; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; San Antonio Museum of Art, San Antonio; Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa; Honolulu Academy of Arts, Honolulu; New Orleans Museum of Art, New Orleans; Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee; Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis; Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo; The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Sarasota. |
| 1987 | Jewelry from the Walters Art Gallery and the Zucker Family Collection. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1979-1980 | Jewelry - Ancient to Modern. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 10/10/1960 | Treatment | cleaned; coated |
| 10/10/1960 | Treatment | cleaned; other |
| 6/1/1983 | Treatment | examined for loan |
| 4/19/1984 | Treatment | cleaned; stabilized; coated; other |
| 4/19/1984 | Treatment | cleaned |
| 2/16/2000 | Treatment | cleaned |
Geographies
Germany, Rhineland
(Place of Origin)
France (Place of Origin)
Measurements
9/16 x 1 5/8 in. (1.5 x 4.2 cm) (d. x diam.)
Credit Line
Museum purchase with funds provided by the S. & A.P. Fund, 1959
Location in Museum
Centre Street: Third Floor: Migration and Early Medieval Art
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
57.1884