2-736-407 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Ornamental Brooch, c. 100-300. These brooches functioned as garment clasps (much like the generally larger fibulae) and are distinctive for their decorative enamels. The art of enameling was highly popular among the conquered peoples who lived on the outskirts of the Roman empire, chiefly the Celts and the Gauls. Though the enameling technique was practiced by the Romans themselves on small objects, the brightly coloured decoration readily appealed to "barbarian" taste. By the AD 200s, enameled brooches like these were being made in abundance by the native peoples of Britain and Gaul (modern France and Belgium).