A
PONTO-GOTHIC
FIBULA
BY VERA K. OSTOIA
Research Fellow, Department
of Medieval Art
The impressively large Ponto-Gothic gold and
tinued their push southward. The Goths and
garnet fibula recently acquired by the Mu- the related tribes which joined them followed
seum must have been worn proudly at one
the Vistula upstream, bypassed the Pripiat
time by a Gothic chieftain or his wife. Its marshes "with the tremulous soil," and followheavy elegance, the subdued brilliance of the ing the course of a big river (either Dniester
or
gold and of the dark
they
Dnieper)
red stones would be
reached the Black Sea
about 235.
worthy to enrich even
a royal attire. Indeed,
Part of the Goths,
the fibula is said to be
known as the Visigoths
part of the famous Sec(Terwingi), settled west
ond Szilagy-Somlyo
of the "river," while
Treasure whose owner
others, known as Osunknown
trogoths (Greutungi),
-though
could easily have been
the Visigothic
occupied the South
king
Athanaric himself. The
Russian plains (called
fibula is an object of
Scythia, where Scythrare beauty from the
ians and Sarmatians
time of the sojourn of
lived) and, later, the
the Goths on the northCrimea. In the east the
ern shores of the Black Emperor Honorius wl
Goths spread almost
a
fibula
with
earing
Sea-the
Pontus Euxi- penants.
to the Caucasus. But in
Coin, enla rgred.
v
Ravenna, early
aed.Ravenna
, v
early
nus of the ancients.
century. American A
the west they had to
Tumismatic Society
stop on the Danube,
Only very few comparable pieces exist, none of them in the United
the frontier of the Roman Empire, although
States.
the Roman armies, whose "drinking cups had
Literary sources from which we can draw in- become heavier than their swords," had a hard
formation
are few and sometimes rather
time keeping their advance in check. Jordanes
vague. According to Jordanes the Goths were describing the Goths says: "all these peoples
a group of barbarian tribes. Under the leadersurpass the Romans by their great stature,
and greater courage, and are terrible by their
ship of their king Berig (Baiariks), they came
from their settlements in southern Scandiwild furor in battle.... They are of a race of
navia to the European mainland in search of indomitable courage and always ready to
better pastures and more space for agriculture.
fight." The Goths were dangerous enemies,
In the first century A.D. they were already
and as victors they demanded the best.
settled on the southern shores of the Baltic
When the Goths came to the northern
shores of the Black Sea they found a highly
Sea, around the basin of the lower Vistula
river. They had trade relations with the south
developed and refined goldsmith's art making
and must have known of the great expanses of use of stone inlay, which was flourishing in
the workshops of such Greek colony-towns as
extremely fertile soil in southern Russia.
Their population increased very rapidly, and,
Panticapeon, the present-day Kertch. The use
in the course of the second century, they con- of gold with filigree work and granulation was
146
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Ponto-Gothic
fibula, gold with garnets.
Second half of the iv century. Fletcher Fund,
typical of Hellenistic jewelry in general, while
the decoration with colored stones, developed
under influences from the East, was brought
to the South Russian plains in the third century B.C. by migrating tribes. The workshops
of the Hellenistic colony-towns in the Crimea
worked in this colorful style primarily for
their barbarian customers, possibly even em-
1947
ploying barbarian craftsmen in their shops,
but using the colored stones very sparingly, if
at all, in the jewelry made for the Greeks.
It was under the influence of the taste for
magnificence, which the Goths acquired
quickly, that their fibulae became the precious
objects of Ponto-Gothic culture of which the
Museum fibula is a superb example, made of
147
silver and gold, decorated with filigree, granu- bow, or bridge, with the pin proper attached
lation, and, particularly, with stones and cloi- to the reverse of the fibula. We find that as
sonne inlay. The Pontine Goths seem to have a rule it was worn with the "head plate"
favored especially the combination of red gar- downward. We also know from some finds in
nets with gold. Later,
hoards and grave excavations that some_
they carried the Pontine style west, eventimes
fibulae were
worn, apparently by
tually as far as Spain,
when their turn came,
women, in pairs - one
on each shoulderafter 375, to move on
under the pressure of
connected by a chain.
invaders from Asia It is usual for fibulae
the terrible
Huns.
of this period to have
Some of the Ostroone or more highly
_..
r decorative knobs- the
goths, as well as most
of the Sarmatian
-|| i: ends of the reinforcing
structure of the spring
ll
tribes, such as the
coils of the pin-proI I
Alans, stayed on under
the Hunnic dominatruding at the margin
of the head plate. The
tion, and some even
construction of the pin
joined the army of the
l'
Huns in its westward
proper is based on the
march. But others, aftsame principle as our
er an unsuccessful represent-day safety pin,
of a much more rugged
sistance, fled west and,
and heavy variety, in
with
the
Visitogether
line
i
with its size and
looked
for
new
goths,
the weight of the maland beyond the Danl
ube and for protection 1: I
terial it was to hold towithin the limits of the I* 1 | i
gether-probably woolRoman Empire. Dur- ii!^
en or linen homespun.
|
'
all
the
The earliest bow
ing
wanderings Rl I
of the Goths over Eufibulae
of the type
i
I
the
known
as
"Gothic," bellI
rope,
richly decorated bow fibula re- 11 l
cause worn by Goths,
ll
mains one of the most
made of bronze, of
i
characteristic objects of
small size and simple
their material culture.
character,were found in
The bow fibula is
the South Russian and
best identified as a garDanubian regions, in
ment or shoulder pin
Gothic graves of the late
because it primarily
The Roman genernal Stilicho, son of a second and early third
served to hold together
Vandal, wearing a fibula. Wing of an centuries. In the course
the folds of a garment,
ivory diptych, about 3r95.Monza cathedral of the fourth century
the Gothic bow fibula
usually a mantle, at the
shoulder. The basic characteristics of a bow becomes larger and more elongated, while the
fibula of the early period of the migrations original semicircular shape of the head plate
are a usually semicircular head plate and a is occasionally modified. The development of
rhomboid foot plate, connected by an arched the Ponto-Gothic fibula reaches its climax
148
around 400; it is at this time that the fibula
becomes a sumptuous and precious piece of
jewelry hiding the actual pin; looking at the
ornate beauty of the
Museum piece, it is
of it as a merely glorifled safety pin.
The Museum fibula
is in a very good state
of preservation, showing only slight traces of
wear and little damage.
It has been cleaned at
the Museum, but, when
examined under a mi...
croscope, a few minute
of
sand
or
particles
similar matter, prob"
ably from the soil in
which it must have
been buried, can still,
be seen clinging to its
surface, lodged in some
corners. The fibula has
an approximately rec-o
tangular head plate,
with two of the outer
corners removed, a
broad
bow,
and
The fibula is made of heavy gold leaf placed
over a silver core; the back is left uncovered,
and soldered to it are the fragments of the
pin. Garnets of various shapes placed in a
::j
.....
...............
/
.
-
.
.
a
rhomboid-shaped foot
plate. Of a double
spiral-spring coil construction only fragments remain. There
are no knobs on the
fibula; they must have
been lost at the time
the spring coils themselves were broken off.
At the horizontal margin of the head plate
there are two places
showing possible traces
pattern, several now
empty cloisons which,
contained
probably
some enamel-like substance, gold filigree
wire, and granules decorate the fibula. The
gold is deep in color,
while the red stones,
cut en cabochon (with
a convex upper surface, are of a variety
of shades ranging from
a lighter wine pink to
a ery dark, almost
black red. Such stones
are usually referred to
as "garnets," but sometimes they are called
either "almandines" the precious garnets of
ancient times or, oc"carbuncasionally,
cles"-garnets
.
'
.
.
:.
One of a pair of fibulae from Airan, Norandy. Early v century. Museum of Caen
of some attachments.
These might have been either the knobs, or
pendants, like those seen on fibulae of some
imperial portraits on Byzantine coins and medallions.
or rubies,
stones of the color of
red-hot coal," cut en
cabochon.
In the period to
which the fibula belongs, the early period
of the great Germanic
migrations over Europe, garnets for the
most part were imported to the shores
of the Black Sea and to
Europe by trade routes
from India, especially
from Burma, although
other sources, such as Asia Minor, are also
mentioned by Pliny. The best garnets of this
period are called by some "Syrian," wrongly
suggesting their provenance from Syria. In
149
in order to create in reflection an illusion of a
reality they should be called "Syriam," the
choicest specimens of garnets having been ac- cabochon cut to match the other stones.
It has been said that the Museum fibula
quired in Syriam, once the capital of the anwas part of a treasure
cient kingdom of Pegu,
X
as the Second
known
in Burma. In the same I
;
of SzilagyTreasure
name
"althe
manner,
one
of the two
mandine" for garnets
Somlyo,
fabulous hoards of the
is probably derived
L I S
? |:
fourth century, comfrom Pliny's "alabani ^
dic" red stone cut and
parable only to that
from Petrossa, in Rupolished near Alabanda,
mania. But no docuin Caria in Asia Minor.
mentary proof of such
Occasionally a quesa statement could be
tion arises whether
found up to now. Like
some of the red inlay
most of the other treasin cloisonne work on
ures of this period the
of
jewelry
European
of Szilagytreasures
the migration period is
in
Sir
or
red
Somlyo,
Transylgarnet
glass.
: !:
A. H. Church, of the
vania, were found by
i
ii -- . sheer accident, within
......
Victoria
and Albert
a short distance from
Museum
(Precious
one another, by shepStones, London, 1924),
A
>
herd boys and by a
..t
may have given an an'
li
swer for some cases
peasant digging in his
field: the first (in the
when he said that some
f
in
Vienna Museum)varieties of garnets can
.:
:l
:
the
the
second
be fused at a high tem(in
1797,
and then
Budapest Museum) perature
in 1889. Isolated pieces
"yield a vitreous mass
which is of much lower
belonging to the second
treasure have been
than
that
of
density
at other times in
..
found
It
the original garnets."
the
same
location.
could be that masses of
..
Thus
it
seems
otherwise
unusable..;
quite
were
possible that the Mugarnet
chips
^:
seum fibula, probably
fused, cut, and then
.
|i found separately, was
used for inlay work.
sold privately.
..
In order to enhance
The most recent and
the brilliancy of the
valuable
extremely
garnets in the PontoGothic and the later
study of the second
Frankish jewelry, small
find,
Fibula from Szilagy-' )mlyo, very similar to Szilagy-Somlyo
published by Nandor
the Museum fibulba. 350-375. Budapest
pieces of thin gold foil,
either plain or hatched,
Fettich, illustrates and
were often put under the translucent stones.
fully discusses the numerous fibulae included
in it. Several fibulae in the find are close in
On our fibula such foil can be seen under one
and technique to ours, especially the
This
used.
flat
stone
of the stones-the
style
only
foil has been stamped with a circle, probably
pair of which one is shown on this page. Their
5
150
Visigoths by the Huns. King Athanaric fled to
the court of Constantinople in 381 and is said
to have buried his treasures before his flight.
chieftains
Important
well
have
done
might
-.?" 'the same.
size, shape, general character, and distribution
of the garnets over the surface are related.
Some other details of the Museum piece, such
as the enamel inlay
and the twisted wire
: :^
decoration on the bow,
relate it to another
: W:i;:i
hether
or not
the
Museum fibula actual-
pair.
The
i
dates most rely belonged to the Szilfor
the
secagy-Somlyo treasure, its
cently given
ond S z i l a g y-S o mlyo
dating depends on the
find and the chronodating of the latter. Its
logical grouping of instylistic
relationship
dividual pieces within
the
places it within
: group dated by Fettich
it, established by Fetin "the beginning of
tich, have been genThe
the last third of the
erally accepted.
basis of such datings is
fourth century." Other
found in the medalrelated fibulae also be'
lions with portraits of
long to finds either
.
Roman
from the end of the
-emperors
which were part of the
fourth century, or from
first Szilagy-Somlyo find.i
around 400. The twistSuch portrait medal'"
ed wire decoration on
lions were given by the
the bow of our fibula is
.
rulers of the Roman
similar to that on two
~::X
Empire to barbarian
.
.early fourth-century fias tokens
of i.:
bulae found in Hun!
kings
and
benevofriendship
gary and has no parallel on fifth-century exlence, and in a way, as
mild
bribes.
The
amples.
Goths, in order to disOther important fibsuch
conulae
similar in size,
play
gifts
had
them
spicuously,
technique, and style,
mounted in settings of
but not quite as close
their liking, sometimes
in style as those of Szilwith
garnet
inlay.
agy-Somlyo and a little
Dates are assigned with
later in date, are the
reasonable accuracy to
pairs of fibulae from
variations in technique,
in
Untersiebenbrunn,
.
Austria, and Airan, in
according to the dates
i
..
of the emperors repreNormandy. E. Kubitsented on the medala
with
enamel
in
the
schek, who published
fibul,
Szilagy-Somlyo
lions. Those
of the
center of the head pl atte. 350-375. Budapest
the Untersiebenbrunn
first Szilagy-Somlyo
find, thinks that the
treasure bear the portraits of emperors who
tomb in which the fibulae were found was that
of a woman. Other items here are quite similar
reigned from 286 to 383, and the probable
date of the hiding of both treasures is to those found in Airan and in some tombs in
around the time of the great defeats of the Kertch, in the Crimea.
,,,,9
-
151
The Airan tomb, like that of Untersiebenbrunn, could have been that of a woman, and
Edouard Salin, who with Albert FranceLanord recently published the find, suggests
several ideas as to the owner of the treasure. It
could have been the wife of an Alan chieftain
(the Alans being one of the principal Sarmatian tribes) who came to France with the
Hunnic hordes, or it could have been a Saxon
princess whose jewelry, made in Pontine workshops, had been brought to
made either in southern Russia or by a craftsman trained in the same tradition but working elsewhere. We know that in the Danube
region goldsmiths had been working for the
provincial Roman market. Both in South
Russia and in the Danube regions examples
have been found of simpler garnet decoration
on fibulae of earlier types, but whether any extensive inlay work was practiced in the Danube region in the fourth century is not known.
Whether the craftsman
who made the fibula was a
Greek, a Goth, or a Sarma1 wbl
tian also cannot be said.
He might have been an
itinerant craftsman. On the
other hand, we know that
"barbaric" Germanic kings
kept "barbaric" jewelers at
their courts. A sixth-century author, Eugyppius, in
his description of the life
of Saint Severinus, Christian missionary
in the
the north by trade routes.
As far as we know there
were then no large units of
Goths in northern France.
The two Airan fibulae,
when found, were still connected by a long silver
chain, with a ring in the
middle. Their decoration is
not as rich as that of the
Museum fibula, and, like
those from Untersiebenbrunn, they are of a slightNoricum in the fifth cenly later date. Salin dates
the grave in the beginning
tury, mentions that the
of the fifth century, or
"savage and malfeasant
about 407, and states that
wife of Felecteus [king of
the
of
he Rugii, another Gerjudging by
quality
the workmanship of the fib- Twisted gold wir
o n m anic people] kept as prisoe decoration
ulae they must have come
oners under a close guard
the bow of the A ituseum's
fibala
from the Pontine workcertain barbaric goldsmiths
shops of Graeco-Sarmatian tradition. The lat- for the manufacture of royal adornments." It
ter continued to exist under the Hunnic domi- probably is not a unique case.
nation, on a reduced scale, as shown by some
Our knowledge of the early period of the
Crimean (Kertch) finds.
Dark Ages to which the fibula belongs still
In general one can say that all of the known remains relatively limited, and literary sources
material closely related to the Museum fibula are scarce. The pendulum of opinion on the
has been found outside of Russia-with the preponderance of Western versus Eastern oriexception of one fibula of the Szilagy-Somlyo gins of styles and sources swings according to
type found rather recently in the Orel region trends and whims of times and individuals.
(known only from a small perfunctory draw- One thing remains certain: the style of the
ing but not yet published in detail) and an- objects of the migration period was integrated
other from Nejine.
with and unquestionably became part of
The workmanship of the fibula belongs to Western culture, contributing to and influthe culture of the Ponto-Danubian region, but encing its development. In the twentieth centhe actual place of its manufacture cannot tury the "barbaric" beauty of the fibula still
be definitely established. It might have been captivates our fancy.
152