Ardagh Chalice

▪ Irish ecclesiastical metalwork

      large, two-handled silver cup, decorated with gold, gilt bronze, and enamel, one of the best-known examples of Irish ecclesiastical metalwork. It was discovered in 1868, together with a small bronze cup and four brooches, in a potato field in Ardagh, County Limerick, Ire. The decoration consists mainly of panels of fine gold and silver filigree applied to the otherwise plain body of the vessel. Studs set with coloured enamels are arranged at intervals amid the filigree decoration, which combines interlaced animal forms and spirals with repeating abstract patterns. The outside of the bowl is engraved with the Latin names of some of the Apostles. There are similarities between the letters of this inscription and some of the large initials in the celebrated manuscript known as the Lindisfarne Gospels, which likely dates from about AD 710–720. Thus, the chalice is thought to date from the first half of the 8th century.

      It has so far proved impossible to attribute its manufacture to any particular workshop, but affinities do exist between the filigree decoration on the chalice and the decoration of the celebrated Tara brooch. Another well-known example of Irish ecclesiastical metalwork, the Moylough belt-reliquary is also decorated in a similar manner. It is likely that the Ardagh Chalice formed part of the treasury of some early Irish church or monastery, until it was disestablished and the cup was concealed for safekeeping. It is now housed in the National Museum of Ireland at Dublin.

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