Eagle brooch from Ossmannstedt

The Germanic eagle brooch from Ossmannstedt.

Here you can buy a reproduction of a Germanic eagle brooch, made after an Ostrogothic garment clasp from the 5th century.

The back of the eagle brooch deserves special attention. As with the historical model, the plumage of an eagle is depicted here in a naturalistic form. The brooch was probably made in a Byzantine workshop.

There are three small eyelets on the lower edge where a chain can be attached between a pair of brooches. There is also evidence of Gothic eagle brooches to which short chains with small pendants were attached.

Link to the original eagle brooch...

The motif of the eagle was adopted by the Ostrogoths from Scytho-Sarmatian art and is based on equestrian nomadic ideas of the eagle as the supreme deity. In early Christianity, the eagle also symbolised both the resurrection of Christ and God's comprehensive power over all of creation as a sign of power.

The original eagle brooch was made of pure gold with gold-plated silver foil and red garnets (almandine), whereas the replica is made of bronze and red glass enamel.

You can buy this Germanic brooch in bronze or in real silver-plated.
Alternatively, also available in 925 sterling silver (Please note the delivery time).
Alloy...

The replica also measures 6.5 cm x 3 x 1.1 cm, just like the original.

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The Eagle Brooch of Oßmanstedt once belonged to a young Ostrogothic noblewoman from the period between 450 and 500 AD, whose skull had been lengthened by bandaging her head as a child in accordance with Hunnish custom. She apparently died while travelling in Thuringia.

Her richly furnished grave dates to between 454 and 489 AD, the time of the decline of Hun rule and the migration of the Ostrogoths to Italy. This is regarded as evidence of Germanic equestrian-nomadic relations at the end of the 5th century, as evidenced by the eagle brooch decorated with red almandines.

Eagle brooches were widespread among Goths and Gepids from late antiquity at the end of the 4th century. Numerous examples can be found, especially in the 5th and 6th centuries among Ostrogoths and Visigoths, where they were part of the costume of high-ranking women. Corresponding sites have been found as far away as Italy and Spain.

The size of Germanic eagle brooches could vary greatly. The smallest documented piece, the eagle brooch from Novi Banovci, measures only 3.6 cm. The two largest eagle brooches from the treasure of Pietroasa measure a full 25 and 27 cm. The majority of eagle brooches measured around 10 cm.