Description

This safety pin-style garment clasp is an impressive example of how the Celts turned everyday objects into carriers of their extraordinary imagery. However, it remains unclear which piece of clothing the “Celtic Prince” closed with the brooch. Unfortunately, their location away from the body offers no evidence of this. The meaning of the motifs depicted can only be a mystery. The fibula body is formed by a winged fantasy creature, whose most striking feature is an oversized head with a huge knobby nose. A human head with a goatee and exaggerated eyes and a dominant nose also seems to literally grow out of the animal's body. As a further decorative element, there is a movable plate with mirror images of animals on the spring axis of the fibula. Two riveted coral beads complete this axis.