Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary/Bulla

Illustrated Companion to the Latin Dictionary, and Greek Lexicon (Rich, 1849)

BUL'LA. Literally a water bubble; whence the word is applied to various ornaments of a globular form, or which possess some affinity in shape to a bubble; viz. —

1. The head of a nail; made of rich and elaborate designs in bronze, or sometimes gold (Cic. Verr. v. 57.), and used for ornamenting the external panels of a door. The example (Bulla/1.1) is from an original of bronze, and represents one of the nail heads which decorate the ancient bronze doors of the Pantheon at Rome.

2. A boss or stud of the precious metals or other valuable material, affixed as an ornament to other objects; as, for instance, to a girdle, shoulder belt, sword sheath, &c. (Virg. Aen. ix. 359.) The example (Bulla/2.1) is from an original in ivory found in the catacombs at Rome.

3. Bulla aurea. A golden ornament, worn by the Roman children of noble families (Plin. H. N. xxxiii. 4.) It consisted of two concave plates of gold fastened together by an elastic brace of the same material, so as to form a complete globe, within which an amulet was contained. (Macrob. Sat. i. 6.) The illustration (Bulla/3.1) represents an original which was found at Roma Vecchia (Ficoroni, Bolla d' Oro, p. 8.), and is drawn of one-third the actual size.

4. Bulla scortea. An ornament of a similar description, only made of leather, instead of gold, which was worn attached to a thong of the same material (lorum, Juv. v. 165.), by the children of freedmen and of the lower classes. (Ascon. in Cic. Verr. v. 58.) The example (Bulla/4.1) is from a small bronze statue found at Perugia, in which the details of the band by which it was fastened round the neck clearly indicate that it was made of a leather plat.

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  Bulla/1.1
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  Bulla/2.1
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  Bulla/3.1
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  Bulla/4.1