Thistle Brooch Xanten, Silver

Roman thistle brooch Xanten

Replica of a so-called thistle brooch after a find from Xanten. The thistle brooch has an attached decorative wreath and a functional, authentic needle construction. The beautiful provincial Roman brooch is made of solid 925 sterling silver with a hard alpaca silver needle. The charming Roman brooch is delivered to you with a certificate in a jewellery case.

Size approx. 70 x 45 mm.

Roman thistle brooches

The modern name thistle brooch refers to the round or square decorative ornament in the centre of the brooch. The attached and curved plate is reminiscent of the petals of a thistle. In French archaeology, these jewels are similarly figuratively called "peacock-tail brooches". It is unknown what the robe pins were called in Roman times.

Technically, they are sleeve spiral brooches in which the pin consists of a coiled spring spiral inserted into a long, hollow sleeve at the base of the brooch. The origin of these provincial Roman brooches lies in Celtic times, where simple bow brooches were already decorated with an attached disc of pressed sheet metal. 
Thistle brooches were widespread and popular in Roman times as a component of women's costume. They were either worn in pairs or used to fix the upper garment centrally in front of the chest. The main area of distribution was in the west of the Imperium Romanum, especially in the Rhine region and in Gaul. They date to the 1st half of the 1st century AD, but individual pieces can appear as late as the 2nd half of the 1st century.

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