Copper-alloy, gilt; 20.72 grams, 75.93 mm. 4th century AD. A late Roman crossbow brooch featuring hollow-cast 'onion' terminals on the bow and above the bow, each with a cast beaded collar. The bow is also cast hollow and the spring-bar is contained within a hollow sleeve. The pin is intact, the lower end trapped within the openwork footplate. Hattatt calculated that brooches of this type were fabricated (assembled) from as many as fifteen separate components, some very delicate. The surface was gilded to add sparkle. Reference: Hattatt, R. Brooches of Antiquity, Oxford, 1987 p.287-8. Good very fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection, found Kent.