A brooch (, also ) is a decorative jewelry item designed to be attached to garments, often to fasten them together. It is usually made of metal, often silver or gold or some other material. Brooches are frequently decorated with enamel or with gemstones and may be solely for ornament or serve a practical function as a clothes fastener. The earliest known brooches are from the Bronze Age. As fashions in brooches changed rather quickly, they are important chronological indicators. In archaeology, ancient European brooches are usually referred to by the Latin term fibula.
Ancient brooches
Brooches were known as fibula (plural fibulae) prior to the Middle Ages. These decorative items, used as clothes fasteners, were first crafted in the Bronze Age. In Europe, during the Iron Age, metalworking technology had advanced dramatically. The newer techniques of casting, metal bar-twisting and wire making were the basis for many new objects, including the fibula. In Europe, Celtic craftsmen were creating fibulae decorated in red enamel and coral inlay, as early as 400 BC.
The earliest manufacture of brooches in Great Britain was during the period from 600 to 150 BC. The most common brooch forms during this period were the bow, the plate and in smaller quantities, the penannular brooch. Iron Age brooches found in Britain are typically cast in one piece, with the majority made in copper alloy or iron. Prior to the late Iron Age, gold and silver were rarely used to make jewellery.
Medieval brooches
Migration period
The distinctive metalwork that was created by the Germanic peoples from the fourth through the eighth centuries belong to the art movement known as Migration period art. During the 5th and 6th centuries, five Germanic tribes migrated to and occupied four different areas of Europe and England after the collapse of the Roman Empire. The tribes were the Visigoths who settled in Spain, the Ostrogoths in Eastern Germany and Austria, the Franks in West Germany, the Lombards in Northern Italy and the Anglo-Saxons in England. Because the tribes were closely linked by their origins, and their jewellery techniques were strikingly similar, the work of these people was first referred to as Barbarian art. This art style is now called Migration period art.
Brooches dating from this period were developed from a combination of Late Roman and new Germanic art forms, designs and technology. Metalworkers throughout western Europe created some of the most colorful, lively and technically superior jewellery ever seen. The brooches of this era display techniques from Roman art: repoussé, filigree, granulation, enamelling, openwork and inlay, but it is inlay that the Migration period artists are famous for. Their passion for colour makes their jewellery stand out. Colour is the primary feature of Migration period jewellery. The precious stone most often used in brooches was the almandine, a burgundy variety of garnet, found in Europe and India. According to J. Anderson Black, "designers would cover the entire surface of an object with the tiny geometric shapes of precious stones or enamel which were then polished flat until they were flush with the cloisonné settings, giving the appearance of a tiny stained glass window."
Brooch designs were many and varied: geometric decoration, intricate patterns, abstract designs from nature, bird motifs and running scrolls. Zoomorphic ornamentation was a common element during this period, in Anglo-Saxon England as well as in Europe. Intertwined beasts were a signature feature of these lively, intricately decorated brooches. Bow shaped, S-shaped, radiate-headed and decorated disc brooches were the most common brooch styles during the Migration period, which spanned the 5th through the 7th centuries.
Anglo-Saxon
The majority of brooches found in early Anglo-Saxon England were Continental styles that had migrated from Europe and Scandinavia. The long brooch style was most commonly found in 5th- and 6th-century England. Circular brooches first appeared in England in the middle of the 5th century. During the 6th century, craftsmen from Kent began manufacturing brooches using their own distinctive styles and techniques. The circular form was the preferred brooch type by the end of the 6th century. During the 7th century, all brooches in England were in decline. They reappeared in the 8th century and continued to be fashionable through the end of the Anglo-Saxon era.
