Ardagh Chalice
Type:
Drinking vessels
Date:
ca. 800
Location or Findspot (Modern-Day Country):
Ireland
Medium:
Enamel,
Garnet,
Gems,
Gilt-bronze,
Gold,
Rock crystal,
Silver
Dimensions:
H 18 cm high, rim diameter 19.5 cm
Description:
The Ardagh Chalice is an outstanding work of early Irish art, comprising some 250 separate parts produced using a wide range of techniques and materials. The silver bowl is attached to the gold stem by a bronze pin, and surfaces are adorned with gold, glass, amber, and enamel. The base is decorated just as elaborately as the more visible surfaces: when the chalice was lifted for drinking, a rock-crystal disk was visible in the center of the foot. The chalice was made in Ireland, probably around 800.
The spiral and animal-interlace patterns on the chalice derive from non-Christian Celtic arts, but the overall form and numerous details are decidedly Christian. Pilgrims to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem were shown the chalice supposedly used during the Last Supper, and a pilgrim's account may have inspired the form of this vessel and some of its decoration. The Latin names of the apostles who dined at the Last Supper are incised around the bowl, on a dotted ground below the handles (Paul's name has replaced Judas). The letterforms are very similar to the display script used in the Lindisfarne Gospels. The Last Supper preceded the Crucifixion, and two elaborate gold and jeweled crosses adorn the center of each side of the chalice, perhaps referencing the jeweled cross erected at Golgotha (Calvary) by Emperor Theodosius II in the early fifth century. Crosses appears frequently on the cup. The trio of enamel studs under each handle may evoke the Trinity. Creatures that represent the earth, air, and waters are also subtly present, hidden in the dotted, filigreed, and chip-carved panels that adorn the cup.
Discovered in a ring fort by boys digging for potatoes in 1868, the Ardagh hoard consisted of this chalice, a smaller bronze cup, and four brooches.
The spiral and animal-interlace patterns on the chalice derive from non-Christian Celtic arts, but the overall form and numerous details are decidedly Christian. Pilgrims to the Holy Sepulcher in Jerusalem were shown the chalice supposedly used during the Last Supper, and a pilgrim's account may have inspired the form of this vessel and some of its decoration. The Latin names of the apostles who dined at the Last Supper are incised around the bowl, on a dotted ground below the handles (Paul's name has replaced Judas). The letterforms are very similar to the display script used in the Lindisfarne Gospels. The Last Supper preceded the Crucifixion, and two elaborate gold and jeweled crosses adorn the center of each side of the chalice, perhaps referencing the jeweled cross erected at Golgotha (Calvary) by Emperor Theodosius II in the early fifth century. Crosses appears frequently on the cup. The trio of enamel studs under each handle may evoke the Trinity. Creatures that represent the earth, air, and waters are also subtly present, hidden in the dotted, filigreed, and chip-carved panels that adorn the cup.
Discovered in a ring fort by boys digging for potatoes in 1868, the Ardagh hoard consisted of this chalice, a smaller bronze cup, and four brooches.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
5
Repository and Online Resources:
• The chalice is in the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin (NMI 1874.99)
• Watch a short video about the chalice on the Smarthistory website.
Image Credits:
Linda Safran
