140 - A FINE MEROVINGIAN GARNET-INLAID BRONZE BOW FIBULA, FIRST HALF OF THE 6TH CENTURY AD

A FINE MEROVINGIAN GARNET-INLAID BRONZE BOW FIBULA, FIRST HALF OF THE 6TH CENTURY AD Frankish Empire, probably Northern Gaul or Rhineland. Skillfully cast, with a semicircular head plate, an arching bow, and an elongated triangular foot. The head plate is set with five projecting knobs, while the foot bears two projections on either side and terminates in a further knob, each inset with garnet. The surfaces of the head plate and foot are neatly decorated with scrolling motifs. Provenance: Bruno Cooper Works of Art, Norwich, United Kingdom, 2004. Collection of Paolo Bertuzzi, acquired from the above. A copy of the signed invoice from Bruno Cooper, dated 2 November 2004, addressed to Paolo Bertuzzi, confirming the attribution and dating above, and stating a purchase price for the present lot of GBP 1,300 or approx. EUR 2,800 (converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing), accompanies this lot. Morley ‘Bruno’ Cooper (d. 2012) arrived in England from the USA in 1958 on a scholarship to Cambridge. After a successful academic career mostly at the University of East Anglia, he transformed what had been an absorbing hobby, dabbling in antiques, into a full career. Trading in the Suffolk town of Long Melford, he quickly established a reputation for the fine European furniture he stocked. Always restless, he eventually became bored the furniture market; he closed the shop, and, from then on, exhibited exclusively at international antique fairs where his reputation spread wider. His stock was characterized by his personal eclecticism; like a cabinet of curiosities. Towards the end of his life, his interests had focused increasingly on to Asia and Indian sculpture in particular. Paolo Bertuzzi (1943-2022) was a fashion stylist from Bologna. He was the son of Enrichetta Bertuzzi, founder of Hettabretz, a noted Italian fashion company with customers such as the Rothschild family, Audrey Hepburn, and Elizabeth Taylor. Paolo Bertuzzi later took over his mother’s business and designed exclusive pieces, some of which were exhibited in the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, USA. He was also an avid collector of antiques for more than sixty years. His collection includes both archaic and contemporary art, and he edited two important books about Asian art, Goa Made - An Archaeological Discovery, about a large-scale archaeological project carried out with the Italian and Indonesian governments, and Majapahit, Masterpieces from a Forgotten Kingdom. Condition: Overall good condition with expected wear, casting irregularities, light warping, areas of deep corrosion, old repairs, some inlays possibly reattached, remnants of gilding, minor dents. Weight: 26.7 g Dimensions: Length 8.7 cm The Franks, ruled by the Merovingian dynasty, and the Ostrogoths were connected not only through political rivalry and diplomacy but also through significant cultural exchange during the first half of the sixth century. Both kingdoms inherited many Roman traditions, including Latin as a language of administration and elements of Roman law, taxation, and court practice, while Christianity further contributed to the formation of shared cultural networks. Diplomatic marriages, embassies, trade, and the movement of clerics and aristocrats encouraged the circulation of political customs and ideas, while the circulation of itinerant craftsmen likewise facilitated the transmission of artistic forms and styles, as well as luxury objects such as the present lot. Fibulae were brooches or pins used throughout antiquity, from the Early Iron Age through the Roman and early medieval periods, to fasten garments in place, performing a function comparable to that of modern buttons or safety pins. The bow brooch, so called from the arched section linking its two terminals, was a particularly characteristic and costly component of female Germanic dress during the Migration Period and early Middle Ages. Auction result comparison: Type: Closely related Auction: Bonhams London, 5 December 2024, lot 71 Mid-Estimate: GBP 7,000 or approx. EUR 8,600 (for two) converted and adjusted for inflation at the time of writing Description: A pair of Ostrogothic gilt-silver digitated fibulae, circa 5th-6th century AD Expert remark: Compare the closely related form and refined craftmanship. Note the different material, absence of inlays, larger size (12.2 cm), and that the lot comprises two fibulae. Due to length restriction on Drouot this entry is shortened. For full description please visit www.zacke.at.