The historical model for this replica brooch is a small Celtic Iron Age horse brooch from Central Europe, now in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
The small horse-shaped fibulae belong to a small group of Central European zoomorphic brooches that have survived from the Celtic Iron Age. These figural fibulae were a typical element of Celtic clothing in the early Latin period and were worn by men, women, and children.
However, horse-shaped brooches were not only common among the Celts. Almost identical horse brooches were also used by the Romans and their use persisted into late antiquity.
The Celtic horse brooch measures 3 × 2 cm and has a solid spiral needle.
Numerous examples of Celtic horse brooches have been found in graves dating from the 5th century AD. They demonstrate the value the Celts placed on horses, as horses were not easy to obtain in Iron Age Europe and their breeding was expensive - they were therefore an important symbol of social status and power in Celtic culture.
However, Celtic zoomorphic brooches from the Late Iron Age did not have to depict horses alone - they often took the form of a deer or goat. What these brooches had in common, however, was that the animals were always depicted three-dimensionally: the hind legs covered the breast of the brooch, while the clasp was attached to the front legs.
- Material: sterling silver 925/1000
- Weight approx. 13g
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