The Londesborough Brooch
Ireland, 8th- 9th century
AD
Outstanding Irish brooch from Lord
Londesborough's collection
This silver and gold brooch belongs to a
'Golden Age' in Irish art, which saw the production
of the finest jewellery worn by people of rank and wealth. Evidence
from sculpture and literature suggests that brooches like this one
were used to fasten cloaks, and worn by both men, at the shoulder,
and also by women on the
breast.
The Londesborough
brooch is unusual in that all its fine decoration is cast and no
filigree
was used. The three domed bosses look like miniature shrine
fittings, which suggests that it may have been made for a senior
churchman. Its original find spot is not
known.
The brooch is a
heavy silver ring
cast
with complex patterns of interlace, spirals, animal and bird motifs
and then thickly gilded on the front. Seven circular amber settings
on the hoop compliment the gold. The use of
chip-carving,
best seen on the panels of interlace, adds to the glittering
surfaces. The pin was made from three pieces and the head is
decorated in a style to match the hoop, with a large domed boss and
amber at its centre. Two L-shaped fields at the top corners once
held blue glass. The back of the brooch is also decorated with
amber and has as well two inset gilt-bronze discs with Celtic
triskeles.
The
rich mixture of motifs on the Londesborough brooch is typical of
the finest Irish work of the eighth century. It is known as the
Insular style and combines Celtic, germanic and classical
elements.
Alfred Denison,
1st Baron Londesborough, collected classical, medieval and
Renaissance pieces in the 1850s and presented a notable collection
of rings and brooches to his wife, including medieval Irish and
Anglo-Saxon items.
F. Henry, Irish art During the Early Chr (London, Methuen, 1965)
I.M. Stead and S. Youngs, Celts, British Museum Pocket Treasury (London, The British Museum Press, 1996)
S.M. Youngs (ed.), The work of angels: masterpiec (London, The British Museum Press, 1989)
T. Richard Blurton (ed.), The enduring image: treasures, exh. cat (British Council, 1997)