Brooch

 

This is a large oval-shaped gold brooch, edged with crenellation. Between the notches of this crenellation, the brooch is set with rubies (?) and ceramic stones. The entire perimeter is trimmed with a delicate raised border of tiny golden spheres. A series of concentric ovals made with granulation and geometrical relief patterns surround a central green stone carved in intaglio with the figure of a nude man standing with a Victory in his right hand. The ruby is a red-colored stone whose hardness is surpassed only by that of the diamond, the hardest of all precious stones. However, the ruby was not known until fairly late in antiquity. It occurs in deposits in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Since the deposits are usually alluvial, rubies are relatively easy to find in these regions.

Provenance: Dura-Europos. 

Dimensions: 8.8 x 7 x 2 cm.

Era: circa 200 C.E.

Text: Fortin (p. 300).

Photography: Jacques Lessard. 

Collection of the National Museum of Damascus. 

 

Michel Fortin, Syria, Land of Civilization. Les Éditions de l'Homme, Musée de la Civilisation de Québec 1999.

Broche