Open Ring Brooch, early 800s
Pictish or Irish; Found near Galway, Ireland
Silver with amber insets; Diam. 2 3/8 in. (6 cm), L. (pin) 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
Purchase, Rogers Fund, and Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, by exchange, 1981 (1981.413)
Technical Glossary
Pictish or Irish; Found near Galway, Ireland
Silver with amber insets; Diam. 2 3/8 in. (6 cm), L. (pin) 3 3/4 in. (9.5 cm)
Purchase, Rogers Fund, and Gift of J. Pierpont Morgan, by exchange, 1981 (1981.413)
Iron Age Celts of Britain were the first to develop the open ring brooch, a type that would remain widespread in Great Britain and Ireland through the early Middle Ages. Each terminal of this example in silver is decorated with three stylized masks in the form of birds' or bats' heads, enframing a polished amber.
Open full-size image
Related Index Terms
Material and Technique
- • Amber
- • Metalwork, Silver
- • Metalwork, Silver, Europe
- • Metalwork, Silver, Europe, Great Britain and Ireland
Object
Subject Matter/Theme
- • Animal
- • Animal, Bird
