Bell Shrine of St. Mura
| Bell Shrine of St. Mura | |
|---|---|
 Bell Shrine of St. Mura | |
| Material | Bronzewith silver,gild-silver androck crystaladditions |
| Size |
|
| Created | 11th to 16th centuries[1] |
| Present location | Wallace Collection,London |
| Identification | J498 |
TheBell Shrine of St. Murais an 11th-century Irishshrinetraditionally associated with theAbbeyofFahan,County Donegal,Ireland, founded bySaint Mura(c. 550–645). It consists of a handbell enshrined in a copper container (or shrine), later embellished with silver,gild-silver androck crystaladditions in four phases ending in the 16th century.[2]The first and most significant of the later phases introducedinterlace,openworkandfiligreepatterns.[1]
The shrine is traditionally thought to relieve pain and suffering; in some accounts pregnant women would drink from it in the hope of a painless birth.[3]It was in the possession of hereditary keepers until the mid-19 century, and has been in theWallace Collection,London, since 1879.
Description
[edit]
The shrine is 15.5 cm (6.1 in) in height, 8.7 cm (3.4 in) wide, and has a depth of 6.7 cm (2.6 in).[3],The main body of the front is made up of four quadrants or panels with a large, ovalrock crystalstone at the centre, which is likely of the final phase. The quadrants are positioned on a silver plate secured to the core with rivets. The quadrant plates are arranged to suggest the shape of aLatin cross.[1]
The frontpiece is capped by a semi-circular crest placed over the handle of the original bell. The crest consists of threehigh reliefanimal heads, each lined byopenworkpatterns,[4]and is usually dated by archaeologists to the shrine's first phase, in the second half of the 11th century.[5]
During the second phase, dated to roughly the 14th century, additionalgilt-silver ornamentation and animal heads were introduced, as well as the openwork on the lower right-hand quadrant. The craftsmen working on the third phase introduceddie-stampedfoils, the centralrock crystalcabochon,and thefiligreeto the two upper panels.[2]
During the third and final phases, craftsmen added die stampherringbonepatterns and additional filigree to the two upper front panels.[2]
Provenance
[edit]Like many early Medieval artifacts, the Bell Shrine of St. Mura was kept locally for centuries by "hereditary keepers"; a group of families so called because they held and protected ancient Irish religious objects over the course of the 10th centuryViking raids,the 12th-century dissolution of monasteries, and for later centuries until the poverty wrought in the aftermath of the 1845–1852Great Famineforced many of the families into placing the objects into sale.[3]
It was first mentioned in modern records in 1850 when purchased for six pounds by the antiquarian John McClelland ofDungannonfrom Reynolds ofInnishowen.McClelland published an 1853 paper detailing the folk legends associated with it,[3]and exhibited the shrine inBelfastin 1852 and inDublinthe following year.[6]It was later sold at auction atChristie's,London, to Lord Londesborough for 72guineas,before passing to a Paris-based antiquities dealer.[7]The shrine was acquired in 1879 by the wealthySir Richard Wallacefrom a Charles Davis. Wallace owned significant land and estates inCounty Antrimand was interested in preserving local Irish early medieval objects.[3]
It remains in theWallace Collection,London. [8]
References
[edit]- ^abcBourke 2020,p. 445.
- ^abcBourke 2020,p. 447.
- ^abcde"The Bell Shrine of St Mura".Wallace Collection online.Retrieved 10 February 2024
- ^Bourke 2020,p. 446.
- ^Ó Riain 2006,p. 172.
- ^Bourke 2020,p. 448.
- ^Milligan 1903,p. 49.
- ^Bourke 2020,p. 97.
Sources
[edit]- Bourke, Cormac(2020).The Early Medieval Handbells of Ireland and Britain.Dublin: Wordwell.ISBN978-0-9017-7788-1.
- Bourke, Cormac (1980). "Early Irish Hand-Bells".The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.110.JSTOR25508775.
- Milligan, Seaton (March 1903). "Ancient Ecclesiastical Bells in Ulster".The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.5.13(33).JSTOR25507271.
- Ó Riain, Padrig (2006). "The Bann Bell-Shrine Crest: A Note on Its Provenance and Inscription".The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland.5.136.JSTOR25509132.
