Bronze-Serpentinenfibel (Sicherheitsnadel)

The Etruscan civilization was developed by a people of Etruria in ancient Italy with a common language and culture who formed a federation of city-states. After conquering adjacent lands, its territory covered at its greatest extent, roughly what is now Tuscany, western Umbria, and northern Lazio, as well as what are now the Po Valley, Emilia-Romagna, south-eastern Lombardy, southern Veneto, and western Campania. The earliest evidence of a culture that is identifiably Etruscan dates from about 900 BC. This is the period of the Iron Age Villanovan culture, considered to be the earliest phase of Etruscan civilization, which itself developed from the previous late Bronze Age Proto-Villanovan culture in the same region. Etruscan civilization endured until it was assimilated into Roman society. Assimilation began in the late 4th century BC as a result of the Roman–Etruscan Wars; it accelerated with the grant of Roman citizenship in 90 BC, and became complete in 27 BC, when the Etruscans' territory was incorporated into the newly established Roman Empire.

Fibula is a brooch or pin for fastening garments, typically at the right shoulder. The fibula developed in a variety of shapes, but all were based on the safety-pin principle. Unlike most modern brooches, fibulae were not only decorative; they originally served a practical function: to fasten clothing for both sexes, such as dresses and cloaks. In English, "fibula" is not a word used for modern jewellery, but by archaeologists, who also use "brooch", especially for types other than the ancient "safety pin" types, and for types from the British Isles. There are hundreds of different types of fibulae. They are usually divided into families that are based upon historical periods, geography, and/or cultures. Fibulae are also divided into classes that are based upon their general forms. Fibulae replaced straight pins that were used to fasten clothing in the Neolithic period and the Bronze Age. In turn, fibulae were replaced as clothing fasteners by buttons in the Middle Ages. Their descendant, the modern safety pin, remains in use today. In ancient Rome and other places where Latin was used, the same word denoted both a brooch and the fibula bone because a popular form for brooches and the shape of the bone were thought to resemble one another. Some fibulae were also sometimes used as votive gifts for gods. Lost fibulae, usually fragments, are frequently dug up by amateur coin and relic hunters using metal detectors.

• Bronze bow fibula (safety pin) with four ducks | Villanovan
• Bronze dragon-type fibula (safety pin) | Etruscan | Archaic
• Bronze serpentine-type fibula (safety pin) with two rings | Villanovan
• Bronze serpentine-disc type fibula (safety pin) | Villanovan | Geometric
• Fibula, boat-shaped type | Italic | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Fibula, semi-circular type | Italic | Mid to Late Bronze Age
• Fibula, boat-shaped type | Italic | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Bronze dragon-type fibula (safety pin) | Etruscan | Archaic
• Fibula | Italic | The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• Fibula | Italic, Villanovan | Geometric | The Metropolitan Museum of Art