The Fiery Eyes of a Maenad: Origin Determination of Faceted Garnet Eye Inlays in a Roman Bronze Bust From Southern Tyrol

ABSTRACT In 1837, the Tyrolean State Museum Ferdinandeum in Innsbruck, Austria, purchased a Roman bronze statue of a maenad from the 2nd century ce with red garnets as facetted eye inlays found near Brixen, Southern Tyrol. These garnets were investigated using optical microscopy, a portable hand‐held and a stationary micro‐X‐ray fluorescence device, as well as Raman spectroscopy. The characteristic major and trace elemental compositions of the garnets and inclusions of colorless needles with a morphology consistent with sillimanite and rounded to subhedral quartz indicate that the garnets are derived from the Garibpet deposit, Telangana, Eastern India. This origin determination provides further evidence for the extensive gem trade network between the Roman Empire and the Indian subcontinent.