Crossbow Brooch for a Civil Servant

The brooch pictured here is often considered the most common type.  It was mass produced for civil servants in the Pannonia region (made up of parts of modern day Hungary, Austria, Croatia, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina) and could be found in all sections of the province.  Scholars believe that this type of brooch is representative to those used by civil servants across the empire, and so it serves as a specific case study of the empire in miniature.  Looking at the object, it is made of copper.  This material was widespread in the empire and not the most valuable (although not worthless either).  This material was useful for mass production, and the value of the material helps make the case that it was widespread.  The material also contains a silver inlay, and this in turn adds more value to the brooch, lending it a sort of status over a brooch made only of copper.  The shape is also that of a crossbow, and the pin style is similar to a modern day safety pin.  All of this helps point to something that was not overly expensive or complicated to produce, but was ornate enough to symbolize status or denote rank.  A civil servant is the perfect fit for this, and as such this piece shows jewelry crafted by a workshop for government or administrator use.