Ancient Roman Bronze Hairpin - 126 mm

Ancient Roman Bronze Hair Pin

Culture / Period: Ancient Roman
Date / Period: 1st–2nd century A.D.
Material: Bronze
Dimensions: 126 mm
Condition: Good condition

No shipping outside the European Union. Due to complex export regulations concerning cultural goods, this item cannot be shipped outside the EU. Please ensure you have a delivery address within the European Union before placing a bid.

Provenance information:
Object Registration ID: 741
The current owner purchased this object from a reputable Dutch numismatic auction house in Schiedam, the Netherlands. Due to privacy regulations, the name of the previous owner could not be disclosed. No further information concerning the earlier ownership history of the object was available from the previous owner.
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Background Information:
This elegant bronze hair pin features a finely moulded, mushroom-shaped terminal, a decorative form characteristic of Roman personal grooming implements. Hair pins of this type were used to secure elaborate hairstyles, which became increasingly fashionable throughout the Roman Imperial period. Their combination of practicality and ornament reflects the importance attached to personal appearance in Roman society.

Roman women often arranged their hair in sophisticated buns, coils, and braided styles that required numerous pins to hold them securely in place. Hair pins were therefore indispensable items of personal dress and could be made from bronze, bone, ivory, silver, or gold according to the owner's wealth. Bronze examples, such as this one, were durable, affordable, and widely used throughout the Empire.

Produced by skilled bronze workers using established casting and finishing techniques, these objects were manufactured in specialised workshops and traded across the Roman provinces. Similar hair pins have been recovered from domestic settlements, villas, military communities, bathhouses, and cemeteries, demonstrating their widespread use in everyday life.

Dating to the 1st–2nd century A.D., this hair pin belongs to the height of the Roman Imperial period, when elaborate hairstyles reflected changing fashions, social status, and cultural identity. It forms a tangible connection to the ancient world, where objects of this kind were essential accessories that combined skilled craftsmanship with the practical needs of everyday Roman life.