| Ardagh Hoard | |
|---|---|
 The Ardagh Hoard on display in theNational Museum of Ireland in Dublin, 2010 | |
| Material | Copper-alloy |
| Created | 8th century |
| Discovered | 1868 Ardagh Fort,Ardagh, Ireland |
| Present location | National Museum of Ireland,Dublin |
TheArdagh Hoard, best known for the Ardagh Chalice, is ahoard ofmetalwork from the 8th and 9th centuries. Found in 1868 by two young local boys, Jim Quin and Paddy Flanagan, it is now on display in theNational Museum of Ireland inDublin. It consists of the chalice, a much plainer stemmed cup incopper-alloy, and fourbrooches – three elaboratepseudo-penannular ones, and one a truepennanular brooch of the thistle type; this is the latest object in the hoard, and suggests it may have been deposited around 900 AD.[1]
The chalice ranks with theBook of Kells as one of the finest known works of metalInsular art, indeed ofCeltic art in general, and is thought to have been made in the 8th century AD. Elaborate brooches, essentially the same as those worn by importantlaypeople, appear to have been worn by monastic clergy to fastenvestments of the period.
The hoard was found in late September 1868 by two boys, Jim Quin and Paddy Flanagan, digging in a potato field on the south-western side of arath (ring fort) calledReerasta, beside the village ofArdagh, County Limerick, Ireland. Flanagan remained in Ireland and is buried in the Pauper's Graveyard inNewcastle West. Quin emigrated to Australia, spending his later years inMelbourne. He is buried inFawkner Memorial Park in the city following his death there in 1934.
The chalice held the other items, covered merely by a slab of stone; the pieces must have been interred in a hurry, probably temporarily, as though the owner probably intended to return for them at a later time. The age of the brooches found with the chalice is evidence that it was not buried until theViking period. It was sold to George Butler, CatholicBishop of Limerick, by Quin's mother.
The chalice is a large, two-handled beaten silver cup, decorated with gold, gilt bronze, brass, lead pewter and enamel, which has been assembled from 354 separate pieces; this complex construction is typical of early Christian Irish metalwork. The main body of the chalice is formed from two hemispheres of sheet silver joined with a rivet hidden by agilt-bronze band and sits at 7 inches high.[2] The width across its rim is 7.5 inches (190 mm).[3] The names of the apostles are incised in a frieze around the bowl, below a girdle bearing inset gold wirework panels of animals, birds, and geometricinterlace.[4] Techniques used include hammering, engraving,lost-wax casting,filigreeapplique,cloisonné andenamel. Even the underside of the chalice is decorated (photo above).
According to the art historianLawrence Stone (writing before the discovery of theDerrynaflan Hoard): "Here the Irish artist has shown a capacity for classical restraint by a deliberate decision to prevent the ornamentation from spreading so copiously as to blur the proportions... contrasting markedly with the lavish ornamental spread of the almost contemporaryTara Brooch and the still more elaborate systems of the later period. The bulk of the decoration consists of exquisitely drawn spiral or interlace patterns, given depth by the soldering of two layers of gold thread one on top of the other. At intervals are set cloisonné enamel bosses of blue and red, the complicated manufacture of which shows direct continuity with the Anglo-Saxon jewelers' craft of the preceding century. But apart from the extraordinary perfection of execution of this elaborate decoration, what gives to the Ardagh Chalice its outstanding position in Irish metalwork is the strictness of the relationship between the simple swelling lines of the cup and its base and the arrangement of the glittering studs, bands, and roundels that adorn its surface."[5] The standard monograph is L.S. Gógan,The Ardagh Chalice.
The chalice is similar to the only other major early Irish example to survive, theDerrynaflan Chalice, found in the neighboringCounty Tipperary. That was found with apaten and liturgical strainer. At that time the ruling dynasty in Tipperary and most ofMunster were theEóganachta, while their allies and possible cousins theUí Fidgenti ruled in the Limerick area (see Byrne 2001; Begley 1906). Although the early suggestion that the chalice wasfabricated atClonmacnoise and stolen from there by a Limerick Dane is widely circulated, this is unprovable. A Munster origin is just as likely if not more so given the 1980 discovery of the sister Derrynaflan Hoard. A Clonmacnoise origin is not mentioned at theNational Museum of Ireland website.[6]
The chalice was featured on a £1 valuedefinitive postage stamp issued byAn Post between 1990 and 1995 as part of the seriesIrish Heritage and Treasures designed by Michael Craig.[7] TwoGaelic Athletic Association trophies are modelled on the Chalice: theO'Duffy Cup and theSam Maguire Cup.
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