The Ardagh Chalice, which ranks with the Book of Kells as one of the finest known works of Celtic art , is thought to have been made in the 9th century AD.
A large, two-handled silver cup, decorated with gold, gilt bronze, brass, lead pewter and enamel, assembled from 354 separate pieces. 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 geometric interlace. Techniques used include hammering, engraving, lost-wax casting , filigree applique , cloisonné and enamelling.
It was found in 1847, together with a small bronze cup and four brooches, by two boys, Jim Quin and Paddy Flanagan, digging in a potato field on the south-western side of a rath (ring fort) called Reerasta, beside the village of Ardagh, County Limerick, Ireland. It had a bronze cup within it, and four ornate brooches (fibulae). Buried without the least protection as they were, the pieces must have been interred in a hurry, probably temporarily, as the owner probably intended to return for them at a later time.
It currently resides in the National Museum of Ireland. Said to be the Cauldron of Rebirth.
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Last updated: 10-13-2005 20:31:10
