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Greece, Etruria & Rome · c. 800 BCE – 500 CE

Bullae

Meaning

A bulla is a locket, often lens-shaped, containing protective substances. For Romans it marked a freeborn child: gold for the rich, leather (lorum) for the poor. It embodied the child's protected, not-yet-adult status.

Intent

It hung around a boy's neck from infancy to protect him from the evil eye and harm, until at about 16 he took the toga virilis and dedicated the bulla to the household gods (Lares). Girls wore a lunula and gave it up before marriage.

Significance

The bulla is a rare case where an amulet was also a legal marker of freedom and citizenship. Its origins are Etruscan, and Romans credited King Tarquinius Priscus with introducing it.

History

Bullae appear in Etruria in the 7th century BCE, were adopted by Rome, and are shown on statues of Roman children and in Ara Pacis reliefs (13–9 BCE). They were worn until the late Empire, when Christian encolpia took over the role.

Making yours
2–8 cm. Two dished discs of gold or bronze sheet joined by a U-shaped strap loop. Leather bullae were worn by the poor.
Greece, Etruria & Rome: the tradition

Greeks called amulets periapta or phylakteria, 'things tied on' and 'protectors'; Romans said amuletum or ligatura. Both cultures feared the envious glance, baskania in Greek and invidia or fascinatio in Latin, and answered it with laughter, shock and the power of images: the Gorgon's face, the phallus, the crescent moon. Children, brides, soldiers and livestock were the most protected. Graeco-Egyptian magicians of the Roman Empire engraved gems and gold foils with divine names and signs, forming a written magic that passed to Byzantium, Islam and medieval Europe. Pliny the Elder's Natural History (77 CE) records hundreds of amuletic stones, plants and animal parts, and became the source book for later lapidaries.

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Pendant, bulla (lentoid)Pendant, bulla (lentoid)3 rd century BC date QS:P571,-250-00-00T00:00:00Z/7Romain portant la Bulle dor au ColRomain portant la Bulle dor au ColMiniature amber amphora (jar)Miniature amber amphora (jar)1 st century AD date QS:P571,+050-00-00T00:00:00Z/7Statua acefala di ragazzo togato con medaglione (bulla), 50 dc ca, da roselleStatua acefala di ragazzo togato con medaglione (bulla), 50 dc ca, da roselleStatue of a boy with toga and bulla (SK Dresden Hm 344)Statue of a boy with toga and bulla (SK Dresden Hm 344)Pendant, bulla (lentoid)Pendant, bulla (lentoid)3 rd century BC date QS:P571,-250-00-00T00:00:00Z/7Bulla with Daedalus and IcarusBulla with Daedalus and Icarus5 th century BC date QS:P571,-450-00-00T00:00:00Z/7 (Classical)BullaBullaDomiziano Imperatore Odio e Amore 20220924 154349 (52388304397)Domiziano Imperatore Odio e Amore 20220924 154349 (52388304397)Early-medieval gold bullaEarly-medieval gold bullaBulla in lamina d'oro, I sec dc, da ariccia (galloro)Bulla in lamina d'oro, I sec dc, da ariccia (galloro)Early-medieval gold bulla pendantEarly-medieval gold bulla pendantFunerary relief (51610278705)Funerary relief (51610278705)Roman boy wearing bullaRoman boy wearing bullaSF-71F723: early medieval gold bulla pendantSF-71F723: early medieval gold bulla pendantEtruria, amuleto a bulla in oro, IV-III secolo acEtruria, amuleto a bulla in oro, IV-III secolo acBulla latinBulla latinCollana d'olo con bulla lenticolare, da ostia, età augusteaCollana d'olo con bulla lenticolare, da ostia, età augusteaStatue of a young Roman with bulla (an amulet worn like a locket), 1st century AD, Neues Museum, Berlin (8169186900)Statue of a young Roman with bulla (an amulet worn like a locket), 1st century AD, Neues Museum, Berlin (8169186900)Anacapri BW 2013-05-14 13-51Anacapri BW 2013-05-14 13-51Appreciation of sculpture; a handbook by Russell Sturgis (1904) (14781711055)Appreciation of sculpture; a handbook by Russell Sturgis (1904) (14781711055)Bulla aurea con divinità, 400-350 ac.Bulla aurea con divinità, 400-350 ac.Early-medieval gold bulla pendantEarly-medieval gold bulla pendantHerakleia Museo Nazionale Della Siritide JewelleryHerakleia Museo Nazionale Della Siritide JewelleryRom - Vatikanische Museen (Publius Septimius Geta) (11965773654)Rom - Vatikanische Museen (Publius Septimius Geta) (11965773654)59-08 Rilievo sepolcrale, età augustea -FG59-08 Rilievo sepolcrale, età augustea -FGAmber & Gold Necklaces, Italic, 500-400 BC (10457281883)Amber & Gold Necklaces, Italic, 500-400 BC (10457281883)Domiziano Imperatore Odio e Amore 20220924 154342 (52389534384)Domiziano Imperatore Odio e Amore 20220924 154342 (52389534384)Giovane togato, con la bulla, I sec. a.C. o I sec. d.C. -FGGiovane togato, con la bulla, I sec. a.C. o I sec. d.C. -FGStatua di ragazzo con toga e bulla, 1-50 dc ca, da area delle botteghe al foro romano di roselleStatua di ragazzo con toga e bulla, 1-50 dc ca, da area delle botteghe al foro romano di roselleStatue of a young Roman with bulla (an amulet worn like a locket), 1st century AD, Neues Museum, Berlin (8169187484)Statue of a young Roman with bulla (an amulet worn like a locket), 1st century AD, Neues Museum, Berlin (8169187484)Clay figures in the form of votive offerings made for physicClay figures in the form of votive offerings made for physicEtruria, oreficerie del periodo orientalizzante, VII secolo ac., pendaglio a bullaEtruria, oreficerie del periodo orientalizzante, VII secolo ac., pendaglio a bullaNecklace with lenticular bulla, Ostia, Augustan age, gold, inv. 13379Necklace with lenticular bulla, Ostia, Augustan age, gold, inv. 13379Storia delle arti del disegno p0422Storia delle arti del disegno p0422

More from Greece, Etruria & Rome: Gorgoneion (Medusa head) · Lunulae (crescent pendants) · Magical gems (Abraxas, Chnoubis) · Amulet capsules & gold lamellae · Anatomical votives · Herakles knots & Sabazios hands · Other & unsorted Greece
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Anything in the gallery can be made: any piece, any tradition, in its own material or yours, by hand from the documented original. Numbered. Price on commission, quoted before anything is made. I reply within one business day.