Cloak pin

This cloak pin or fibula demonstrates a technique in which Etruscan goldsmiths were consummate masters: granulation. The curve of the pin is covered with tiny particles of 'gold dust’ arranged in an intricate pattern, known as pulviscolo. The particles are about 0.1 mm in diameter. Without modern kilns, the Etruscans nonetheless succeeded in melting these tiny grains into a pattern on the plate. Had the temperature been too high, the particles would have become deformed and melted into an amorphous mass on the plate. The elegant pin ends in the shape of a dove, the bird of the goddess of love Aphrodite, whom the Etruscans called Turan.