The magnificent Ardagh Chalice – the outside of the bowl the Latin names of the apostles are incised on a dotted background written in an elegant script familiar from contemporary manuscripts. There are similarities between the letters of the inscription and some of the large initials in the Lindisfarne Gospels, which is an Irish monastic foundation in England. Just above is a girdle of ten filigree panels of animal ornament and interlace encircles the bowl between the elaborate handles.
Animals and a design of human heads, lightly engraved, spring from the lower border of the inscription below the handles and medallions. The medallions, one on each side, in the centre of the bowl, are cast bronze frames in the form of a cross of arcs within a circle, embellished with gold filigree scrolls, simple coiled serpents in beaded wire on gold foil and enamels. The stem is elaborately decorated with La Tène designs, animal ornament, fret patterns and a honeycomb-like interlace in cast gilt-copper alloy. The foot of the chalice is large and is decorated on both the under and the upper surfaces. A great roundel of cast ornament, filigree beasts and a rock crystal with a surround of amber glued with a malachite paste, decorate the interior of the foot and conceal the end of the large pin which holds the stem and foot together.
The Ardagh Chalice was discovered in 1868, in a field near the village of Ardagh, County Limerick, by two boys, Paddy Flanagan and Jim Quin. Inside the chalice was a smaller bronze ministerial cup and four brooches. Its discovery helped to fuel the Celtic Arts Revival movement in Victorian England. The so-called Ardagh Hoard is currently on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare St. Dublin. Between 1990 and 1995, the chalice appeared on a postage stamp issued by An Post (Irish Post Office) as part of the Irish Heritage and Treasures series, to commemorate outstanding works in the history of Irish art.
Animals and a design of human heads, lightly engraved, spring from the lower border of the inscription below the handles and medallions. The medallions, one on each side, in the centre of the bowl, are cast bronze frames in the form of a cross of arcs within a circle, embellished with gold filigree scrolls, simple coiled serpents in beaded wire on gold foil and enamels. The stem is elaborately decorated with La Tène designs, animal ornament, fret patterns and a honeycomb-like interlace in cast gilt-copper alloy. The foot of the chalice is large and is decorated on both the under and the upper surfaces. A great roundel of cast ornament, filigree beasts and a rock crystal with a surround of amber glued with a malachite paste, decorate the interior of the foot and conceal the end of the large pin which holds the stem and foot together.
The Ardagh Chalice was discovered in 1868, in a field near the village of Ardagh, County Limerick, by two boys, Paddy Flanagan and Jim Quin. Inside the chalice was a smaller bronze ministerial cup and four brooches. Its discovery helped to fuel the Celtic Arts Revival movement in Victorian England. The so-called Ardagh Hoard is currently on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare St. Dublin. Between 1990 and 1995, the chalice appeared on a postage stamp issued by An Post (Irish Post Office) as part of the Irish Heritage and Treasures series, to commemorate outstanding works in the history of Irish art.
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