Gold, 12.57 grams, 42.16 grams. 3rd-4th century AD. Crossbow brooches were the standard form of display fastening of the Roman Empire from the mid-3rd century onwards, developing from small, light types to heavier ones with larger knobs. The brooch (Hull's Type 192) consists of a hexagonal cross-bar with onion-shaped terminals and thin pierced plates flanking the junction with the bow and the third knob. The deeply-arched hexagonal bow extends to a narrow D-shaped finial section connecting to the rectangular footplate, which is pentagonal in section, and hollow with a narrow lateral slit to create acatchplate for the pin which was lost in antiquity. The upper face of the footplate is decorated with a central reserved panel flanked by addorsed scrolls. The panel features inlaid niello ornamentation in the form of a series of contiguous triangles which extend along upper facet of the bow. On the flanking facets are the words 'VTERE' and in the reverse direction 'FELIX'; on the adjacent facets are the word 'VICTORI' and the abbreviation 'DCNN'. The lettering is neatly executed in a seriffed script, inlaid with niello. The text utere felix is a standard form of donative inscription meaning 'use [this] with good fortune'; this text was customarily applied to artcles given as presentations, and represents a wish for fortune to accompany the item. According to Hauck, Keller and Staubach (p.272) in late Roman contexts this inscription was used for donations made at an investiture or accompanying an official acclamation from the army. The text victori appears to be an abbreviation for a (declined?) form of the word victoria, goddess of victory. The text 'DCNN' probably represents the initials of the personal names of the recipient (cf. the bracelet in the Hoxne hoard bearing the text UTERE FELIX DOMINA IULIANE 'use [this] with good fortune Lady Juliana', with the personal name in the vocative case). Reference: Hattatt, R. Iron Age and Roman Brooches. A second selection of brooches from the author's collection, Oxford, 1985 items 504, 505 and Hauck, K., Keller, H., and Staubach, N.Iconologia sacra: Mythos, Bildkunst und Dichtung in der Religions- und Sozialgeschichte Alteuropas : Festschrift für Karl Hauck zum 75. Geburtstag (Arbeiten zur Frühmittelalterforschung), Amsterdam, 1994. Pin lost in antiquity, otherwise extremely fine condition. Provenance: from an old English collection, found Continental Europe. This item is accompanied by an XRF ancient metal test certificate from Oxford X-ray Fluorescence Ltd.