Fibula from El Turuñuelo

Circular gold fibula made of two plates with soldered joints and two round rivets to secure the edges. The front side shows the Epiphany or Adoration of the Magi. On the right, the haloed Virgin Mary is seated on a throne and rests her feet on a footstool. The Christ Child, also haloed, is perched on her lap, raising his right hand in a gesture of blessing. An eight-pointed star appears above the Child’s head. The three Magi, each wearing oriental trousers, chlamys and Phrygian cap, approach them from the left. A Greek inscription above and below the scene alludes to the apotropaic nature of the brooch, invoking the protection of the Virgin Mary for its wearer.
A Byzantine import to Hispania, illustrating the Iberian Peninsula’s trade relations with the eastern Mediterranean, it was among the grave goods of a nobleman from the Hispano-Visigothic period who was buried in the vicinity of Augusta Emerita (Mérida), in what is now the village of El Turuñuelo, Badajoz.