Zoomorphic 'millefiori' Boar brooch

[Mayadigger]

Ave!

Rare Zoomorphic Brooch with Mosaic Inlay from Roman Dalmatia, ca. 2nd Cent AD

43mm/6.3gm

We sent pix of this brooch to our Oxford scholar friend and here is his educated ID for the piece -

"When I first saw it I was sure it was not from Roman Moesia, but rather from Pannonia or Dalmatia. As it was discovered in Croatia, that hones it down to a style very specific for this region. It is well preserved - both enamel and pin. This brooch is dated to 2nd early 3rd Cent. AD. Usually most of these brooches are considered to be earlier - late 1st to early 2nd Cent AD. The geometric ones are dated slightly later. This one is a combination of both - being geometric in the middle and having two attachments on both sides representing tusks of a wild boar. Very rare in this condition."

Superb example of this type brooch with no missing pieces in the mosaic. Pin intact, but not functional. Boar-shaped finial intact!

Our host, Joe S has a similar variety in the store, noted as 'museum quality'. [url]https://www.forumancientcoins.com/catalog/roman-and-greek-coins.asp?param=34494x00.jpg&vpar=1617&zpg=39902&fld=https://www.forumancientcoins.com/Coins2/[url]

I'd be happy to hear anyone's comments as to the differences between the two.

Best regards,

Kevin

[quadrans]

Hi Kevin
 I can tell you it is beautiful..

 Congrat's

 Q.

[Jay GT4]

Very lovely piece indeed!

[SC]

Very nice!

I think yours and Joe's are basically the same family - enameled complex form brooches - but regional variations.  There was clearly a fad during part of the 2nd century for these brightly enameled oddly shaped brooches.

I like the creature on yours and the fact that you can see from the bottom that it was a separate bronze piece riveted on.

Did you clean it?  I recently received a Roman belt hanger stud with millefiori enamel.  It required cleaning and it was very challenging.  The millefiori bits are very delicate and can come out easily.  I would like to add some sort of liquid adhesive to help stabilize it but haven't figured out what to use.

Shawn

[Mayadigger]

Ave Shawn et al,

Yes, we cleaned this brooch and it arrived in similar condition as Joe's brooch. We used the dreaded and damned Mint State Restoration solution to remove/dissolve all of the bronze related encrustations. Just a 30 minutes in the soak, and then finished with a common sharp scalpel, then a mini-SBBB, wax and flip. No re-patination was needed.

Here is another similar enameled 'millefori-style' brooch as received a few days ago. Crappy photo, so please forgive. We'll present better after the cleaning is finished.

Best regards to all,

Kevin

[Mayadigger]

Ave!

I pegged down the 1st brooch. It's Hattatt 600, no question. See his line drawing below for confirmation. I feel a bit smug that in his collection, the pin was missing. 

As for the second example, I can't find an exact match. The closest I can find is 1118. He notes it as an equal-ended plate brooch, c. 2nd cent. Again, see below my the brooch as 'finished'.

Any thoughts?

Best,

Kevin