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Brooch

ca. 1850 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This silver-gilt brooch was made by West and Son of Dublin. The design was registered on 17 December 1849. It is a simplified small-scale adaptation of the Cavan brooch, a Celtic brooch made in the late 8th Century and now in the National Museum of Ireland. The brooch was also known as the Queen's brooch because a replica of it was presented to Queen Victoria during her visit to the Dublin Exhibition in 1853.

This example is one of six Irish reproduction brooches purchased for the collections of the Museum of Manufactures (forerunner of the South Kensington Museum and the V&A) at Marlborough House, London, from the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. It cost £1 1s 6d. For a more elaborate version by West and Son of the same brooch, see 2750-1853.

Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Metal, gilded
Brief description
Silver-gilt penannular brooch. The plain frame terminates in two bosses, and a third boss forms the head of the pin.
Physical description
Brooch, penannular in form (ie. circular with a small part of its circumference missing); decorated with three trefoil-shaped bosses and applied with filigree.
Dimensions
  • From brooch rim to head of pin length: 62mm
  • Maximum, across front of brooch width: 51mm
  • Maximum, from back to front of pin depth: 13mm
Marks and inscriptions
  • Design Registry mark for 17 December 1849.
  • 'WEST & SON' (Stamped on back of brooch)
Gallery label
(1853)
Brooch or Fibula, gilt metal, penannular, with three trefoil-formed bosses, covered with minute chased and filigree work. A reduced copy of an ancient Irish brooch. Irish, modern. (West and Son, Dublin.) Diam. 2 in. Bought, 1/. 11s. 6d.
Summary
This silver-gilt brooch was made by West and Son of Dublin. The design was registered on 17 December 1849. It is a simplified small-scale adaptation of the Cavan brooch, a Celtic brooch made in the late 8th Century and now in the National Museum of Ireland. The brooch was also known as the Queen's brooch because a replica of it was presented to Queen Victoria during her visit to the Dublin Exhibition in 1853.

This example is one of six Irish reproduction brooches purchased for the collections of the Museum of Manufactures (forerunner of the South Kensington Museum and the V&A) at Marlborough House, London, from the Great Exhibition held in London in 1851. It cost £1 1s 6d. For a more elaborate version by West and Son of the same brooch, see 2750-1853.
Bibliographic reference
Farley, Julia and Fraser Hunter, eds. Celts: Art and Identity. Catalogue of the exhibitions 'Celts: art and identity' and 'Celts', British Museum, London, 24 September 2015-31 January 2016, and National Museums Scotland, Edinburgh. London: British Museum Press, 2015. ISBN 9780714128351
Collection
Accession number
2751-1853

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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