Ca. 100 AD. A bronze openwork brooch plaque featuring “war trumpet” terminals with a still-preserved catch plate on the reverse (the pin is missing). Brooches were an important element of Roman dress, used to fasten clothing but they also served as dress accessories in their own right. Thousands of different types and subtypes of Roman brooches are attested, and they seem to have played an important role in Roman people’s self-expression. Cf. Richard Hattatt, A Visual Catalogue of Richard Hattatt's Ancient Brooches, Oxbow Books, 2000, p. 357, item 1621. Size: L:21.6mm / W:35.5mm ; 11.64g Provenance: Private London collector, acquired on the Austrian Art market, formerly in an old USA collection formed since the 1970s.