Head of Brooch

This brooch is the rarest and most precious object in Gian Giacomo Poldi Pezzoli’s collection of archaeological jewellery. It consists of a sphere with a duck welded to a modern pin.
The sphere is wholly decorated with the granulation technique, with tiny spheres joined while still hot to the metal support. The floral ornaments on the sphere were added by using the filigree technique. The duck is fully embossed: the wings and feet are defined by delicate filigree work and the feathers of the body by incisions. Granulation and filigree techniques help to date with certainty the production; the duck, together with the sphinx and the dragon were typical of Etruscan jewellery found in the nineteenth century excavations.
The brooch was probably part of the furnishings of a woman’s tomb.