Roman Silver-Gilt Cicada Brooch
4th-5th century A.D. A silver-gilt brooch in form of cicada with hollow-formed D-section head and neck, flat triangular wings; the head with bulbous eyes above a waisted neck; granule detailing to the head; pin-lug and catch-wire to the reverse. Cf. Bona, I., Les Huns, Le Grand empire barbare d'Europe,IV-V siècles, Paris, 2002, figs.178-179, for similar examples. 3.82 grams, 23 mm (7/8 in.). Acquire in the 1990s.Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection. This type of brooch was popular among the Hunnic tribes, as well as in Roman Pannonia and Illyricum before the arrival of the Huns. Early Hunnic designs from Pannonia may have borrowed from late Roman types. With the arrival of new populations due to migration from the east, a new material culture developed, described as the Danubian or Ponto-Danubian style, as many of its features appear in the Pontic region as well. Although the exact meaning of the cicada brooch is not known to us, it is possible that it retained its ancient symbolism of rebirth or regeneration of the soul.