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TheHunterston Brooch is a highly importantCeltic brooch of "pseudo-penannular" type found nearHunterston,North Ayrshire, Scotland, in either, according to one account, 1826 by two men fromWest Kilbride, who were digging drains at the foot of Goldenberry Hill,[1] or in 1830.[2]
The Hunterston Brooch is clearly an object of very high status, indicating its owner's power and prestige. With theTara Brooch in theNational Museum of Ireland and theLondesborough Brooch in theBritish Museum, it is considered one of the finest of over 50 highly elaborate surviving Irish Celtic brooches,[3] and "arguably the earliest of the ornate penannular brooches from Britain and Ireland".[4]
It is in the collection of theNational Museum of Scotland inEdinburgh.
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Made within a few decades of 700 AD,[5] the Hunterston Brooch is cast in silver andgilt. It is set with pieces ofamber (most now missing) and decorated withinterlaced animal bodies in goldfiligree.[5] The diameter of the ring is 12.2 cm, and in its centre there is a cross and a goldenglory representing the risenChrist, surrounded by tiny bird heads. The pin, which is broken, can travel freely around the ring as far as the terminals—necessary for fastening; it is now 13.1 cm long, but was probably originally 15 cm or more.[6]
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The brooch has a complex construction typical of the most elaborate Irish brooches. Panels of filigree work were created separately on gold trays, which were then fitted into the main silver-gilt body. On the reverse, four panels of silver-gilt were also inserted; as in other examples like theTara Brooch the decoration on the reverse uses older curvilinear "Celtic" motifs looking back toLa Tène style Insular Celtic decoration, though on the Hunterston Brooch such motifs also appear on the front.[6]
The back of the brooch has a scratched inscription inrunes in theOld Norse language, probably 10th century, "Melbrigda owns this brooch"; Maél Brigda, "devotee ofBridgit" is a common Gaelic female name, though seen as male by other sources.[7][8] Much later ownership inscriptions are not uncommon on elaborate Celtic brooches, often fromNorse-Gael contexts.
Such brooches were worn by rulers or gifted by the ruler to people of importance. The Hunterston brooch evidences power and wealth in theViking Age.
The Hunterston brooch may have been made at a royal site, such asDunadd inArgyll,[5] though is more likely to have been made in Ireland, especially as itspseudo-penannular form is typical of Irish brooches, whereas the trulypenannular form remained usual in Pictish brooches.[6] On the other hand, its style is closely comparable to a terminal fragment of apenannular brooch found inDunbeath in 1860 which probably was made in Scotland; craftsmen may have travelled across the area using the locally popular forms.[9] Lloyd and Jennifer Laing feel it was probably made inDalriada, and the Museum of Scotland say "The style of the brooch has Irish parallels, while the filigree resembles metalwork from England. The brooch was probably made in western Scotland where the two traditions were joined, or perhaps in Ireland by a craftsman trained in foreign techniques."[10]
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