Art Resource - ART201070

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Shrine boss, Irish, first half of the 8th century. This once sumptuously decorated boss was cast in bronze and then thickly gilded. The decoration consists of complex animal interlace, and trumpet and spiral decoration with panels containing twenty-four settings, now all empty, which held glass, crystal or amber giving the boss a rich glittering appearance. Four highly stylized lions crouching on the sides divide it into quarters. A ring of black niello frames plain gold troughs once filled with panels of filigree, surrounding a big hole where a large setting once lay. The exceptional decoration and casting put it at the pinnacle of Irish art. It would originally have been attached to a shrine, along with four others, to form a cross-shape. It was apparently found in a church at Steeple Bumpstead, Essex, during construction work, stored in a chest and then for years used as a handle to the chancel door where it was noted in 1842.
M AND ME, 1916,7-5,1

Location British Museum/London/Great Britain

Unique Identifier ART201070

Type Image

Purpose Public

Size 1600px × 1273px

Photo Credit Erich Lessing / Art Resource, NY

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