The Borrisnoe Irish Bronze Age Collar
Ancient treasures and wonders of Ireland, mysterious gems and gold, lost creatures and Irish wonders
The Borrisnoe Irish Bronze Age Collar
During the Irish bronze age, the working of gold reached heights never before seen or dreamed of. Goldsmiths fashioned the soft, luminous metal into intricate forms resembling cloth, cord, the rising and falling hills of Ireland, and many other striking designs. Among their most famous and beautiful creations were the astonishing gold collars, one of which was discovered in a bog in Borrisnoe, County Tipperary, in the early nineteenth century.
It is unusual among these collars in that it still has a small gold wire loop behind the end discs, so that a cord or light chain could be attached for holding it around the back of the neck. It is also likely that cloaks were fastened to the circular endpoints. The Borrisnoe collar dates from approximately 750BC, around the time when the iron age was starting in Ireland, and is about 30cm across. It was found in the same region as the now-missing Comerford Crown, a golden bronze age hat dicovered in 1692.
These magnificent works of art, described as technical and artistic achievements at the apex of goldworking in the Europe of their time, were formed from very thin sheets in order to reduce their weight, and were decorated using using a combination of wirework, incision and repousse techniques. They were probably worn as status symbols by wealthy and powerful warrior-kings or perhaps for religious or even judicial purposes. There are many legends in Irish mythology of collars worn by judges which would tighten and strangle the wearer if their judgement was poor!
Might do no harm to have a few of those today, says you.
Only eleven of these collars have been found to date, mostly in North Munster, many of which were folded in half before being hidden. The reasons for such deliberate deformation are unknown, but may have had something to do with their former owners.
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