Villanovan Bronze Sanguisuga Fibula

Northern Italy, Villanovan culture, ca. 9th to 8th century BCE. A "sanguisuga" brooch - meaning "leech" - made of tightly-coiled bronze wire with a heavy clasp and pin. The form of this fibula is a thick, arched bow with a closed underside. The spiraled body is heavy and hollow. Fibulae of this type are found almost exclusively in the graves of women from the later Villanovan and Etruscan period, although the Greeks seems to have imitated the Etruscan examples in the 7th century BCE. The form immediately preceded the navicella, "boat-shaped" fibula. Size: 3.75" L x 1.2" W x 2.75" H (9.5 cm x 3 cm x 7 cm)

Provenance: private Swiss collection of F.H.; ex-private W. Rosenbaum collection, Ascona, Switzerland, acquired before 1984

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#124134
Condition Report: Restoration to section of pin else quite fine, with patina on surface that may have been cleaned in the past.