Gold fibula
Rare and stunning Etruscan gold fibula with a triple bow and a very long, narrow catch plate of gold sheet. The bow surmounted with a crouching sphinx, the creature made in two halves which have been pressed into a mould and then soldered lengthwise down its body, the body decorated with delicate granulation. The rest of the bow with pyramids of granulation. The long catch plate is decorated with lines and triangles of granulation, the pin coiled into a spiral where it emerges from the bow.
Period
Etruscan, 2nd half of the 6th century B.C.
Art market, United Kingdom
Private collection, Switzerland, acquired from the above in 1974
