Ca. 100-200 AD. Bronze brooch in the form of a fly or cicada, with broad, curving wings and stylised head. The catch plate and hinge are still present on the reverse. Zoomorphic brooches were common under the Roman Empire, and are typically associated with Gaul and Britain, where they may have been an important part of dress amongst military communities. For more information on these kind of brooches, see Neustupný, E. (1961). Czechoslovakia Before the Slavs. Thames and Hudson, 179.Size: L:61mm / W:24mm ; 14.3gProvenance: From the private collection of an Essex gentleman; previously in an old British Collection, formed in the 1980s.