Ca. 100-300 AD An excellent gilded bronze crossbow brooch, with rounded finials, an arched bow, and chamfered lower end. Pin and catchplate to the reverse. Crossbow brooches, used for fastening cloaks were an international late Roman type, and were often worn by men in positions of authority, in the military or civil bureaucracy. A famous ivory diptych, now Monza, Italy, depicts Stilicho, the head of the Western Roman military under Emperor Honorius in the years around 400 AD, along with his wife, Serena, and son, Eucherios. Both Stilicho and Eucherios wear crossbow brooches to fasten the cloaks on their right shoulders, indicating the importance of this type of dress accessory for those in positions of authority. This beautiful item may have belonged to a Roman military officer or another important official.Size: L:54.7mm / W:32.9mm ; 7.13g Provenance: Private UK collection; from an old London collection formed in the 1980s.