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Formed from a single length of wire, the triple-looped hinge extending to form the pin running the entire length of the fibula, the other end of the pin looped over itself to secure the pin, then extending to form a large spiral disc; thinner lateral wires, secured by three rectangular plates bordered above and below by gold wires, are formed into four smaller pairs of spirals.
Bronze Age, circa 12th-10th Century BC
length: 35 cm
Multiple spiral fibulae such as this example are some of the most elaborate spiral fibulae
from the Late Bronze Age. The size and unwieldy nature of this fibula suggests it was a
non-functional high-status object. Complex multiple spiral fibulae of this type are eye-
catching but remain enigmatic.
For a similar example: The Metropolitan Museum of Art,
object number 2000.281.2https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/472835
Provenance
Provenance: Hungarian private collection; Gorny & Mosch, Germany, 1998; with
Harmakhis Gallery, Belgium, acquired by the present owner from above in 2015
Exhibitions
From Function to Fantasy: The Brooch, Wartski, London, 1st to 12th October
2025
