IRISH JEWELRY 
Early Christian period, the best known is the Tara 
Brooch. This beautiful piece was found, not at 
Tara, as its name suggests, but near Drogheda. 
[ts name it owes, presumably, to the regal character 
of its ornament. If the brooch was not found at 
Tara it deserves to have been! This superb ex- 
ample of the silversmith’s art is of white bronze 
(findruine) as a basis, covered, in the usual way, 
with ornament of gold, silver, enamel, niello and 
glass. The face is divided into panels, in the Irish 
fashion. Bounding these are raised borders of a 
dark amber-coloured glass, edged with delicate lines 
of gold. A good magnifying glass is necessary for 
a detailed study of the design, which is composed 
in part of exceedingly fine gold wire, and partly of 
rich gilt carvings on the metal plate. There are 
large attached circular ornaments of sapphire and 
coloured glass, some of which have pieces of gold 
inset. Gold inset in glass is certainly a daring com- 
position. The back of the Brooch is less rich than 
the front; it is for all that, a wonderful artistic con- 
ception. Spiral motives, laid on in gold, tell us 
that the period of the Brooch is early. Glass bosses, 
similar to those in front, have gold ornaments in 
their centres and fine lines of gold running through 
them. In all, the artist has used no fewer than 
seventy-six distinct varieties of design, every one 
of which has some peculiar fitness for its allotted 
position. Attached to the Brooch was a silver chain 
of Trichinopoli work which was intended to hold the 
pin in place. Altogether the Tara Brooch is a 
marvellous piece of ancient jewellers’ work. Its 
raised borders, the rich contrast of colours, the 
variety of design, the extreme delicacy of execution, 
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