Mária T. Biró: The Bone Objects of the Roman Collection. (Catalogi Musei Nationalis Hungarici. Seria Archeologica 2; Budapest, 1994)

IV. HAIR-STYLES THE USE OF BONE HAIR-PINS, AND COMB USE OF THE ROMANS - 3. Decorative pins

as compared to the length of the pin, moreover, the diameter of the leg is also bigger than the pin head itself. Pins to be ranged into this Croup have come to light from Dunaújváros and Óbuda. Half-made and spoiled specimens occur in every Collection (Nos. 294-297.) In the National Museum, too, there are two pins where the side respectively the point was cut. In general spoiled specimens are few because wrong carving can be relatively easily corrected at best the pin meant originally to be global-headed will have a conic head. With the above mentioned two specimens, however, the carver has cut such a big part of the bone that its form could not be modified. 3. Decorative pins This third group of bone pins is the most varied. The miniature female heads, the stylized figures of abstract animal representations and the diversity of non-figurative patterns prove the high level of provincial bone carving workshops. In the striking richness of forms unique specimens are very rare. Moreover, the more bone carvings are published from all over the Empire the less is the number of carvings to be considered unique. It is more and more obvious that they were working after pattern books as it was usual in other Imperial fields of art. The same representations appear in provinces divided from one another by continents. There is practically no carving without an analogy. Unlike simple hair-pins and pins with global head decorative hair-pins can be dated with certainly. The fashion of decorative hair-pins spread generally in the 4th century, similarly to bone bracelets and combs. Bone bracelets were in the course of the first three centuries unknown in the Roman settlements of the povinces and one can meet them first in the 4th century. On the other hand, bone hair-pins were already used earlier, but their fashion culminated in the 4th century; a great variety of new motifs appeared and a much larger quantity was made of them than in the preceding centuries. The formal richness of the 4th century is characteristic not only to the whole Province but to the single bone processing workshops as well. Although it can be observed that workshops selected from patterns, they preferred some while other patterns were entirely missing from their practice. The three groups of decorative pins can be further divided to well determined, characteristic types. The three basic groups are constituted by non-figurative pins, pins with animal figure and pins with human figure. Non-figurative pins. Simple or globe-headed pins serve as a basis for decorative pins; they were further decorated with various carvings. So-called simple pins without head were covered on their thicker part, at least on onethird of their surface with carving, incising. Pins with global head varied with a pointed part on the top of the globe, respectively the pin was given a richly striped collar at the neck. In other cases the head was further processed to the popular motif of pinea cone. Often instead of global head, other geometric forms were carved like cone, octahedron, etc. These 4th century hair-pin types are the copies of the bronze hairpins of the 3rd century. I. Among decorated pins the simplest form was made in a way that the thicker part of the simple bone pin without head was covered with an incised lattice pattern. (No. 298.) This motif was generally employed throughout the 4th century. Moreover, this pattern is a criterion helping the dating of pins, combs and other bone objects. In many cases this motif serves as a proof of secondary employment. In Tác pins with plastic animal figure of earlier made and strongly worn by the 4th century were remodelled with this technique. II. The most preferred bone pins with global head were often decorated with different peaks on the globe. (Nos. 299-303.) One of the most beautiful of these is the pin that came to the Museum from Keszthely. (No. 303.) With this type, beside the peak, incised or scratched collar decoration is frequent. The lattice pattern characteristic to the 4th century appears here, too. Sometimes the global head itself was decorated with scratches as one of the specimens from Dunapentele with the horizontally running double incising around the global head. (No. 302.) Besides global heads, plum stone and onion-shaped pin heads are also frequent with wide plastic ribs at the neck. (Nos. 304-313.) III. In the practice of the Szőny workshop there is a decorative pin form prevailing which seems to be the combination of the two former groups. (Nos. 314-334.) A simple pin without