Pictures of the Month | March 2011
Object of the Month
March 2011
Torc,
Irish, 1000 – 700 BC
Gold, 16.6cm
‘This wonderful torc has a simplicity which belies its sophistication. The skill needed to bend gold with such precision is not easily achieved. Moreover torcs, such as this, had an enduring popularity across Northern and Central Europe which lasted from the 2nd Millennium BC right up to the Vikings over 2000 years later at the end of the 1st Millennium AD. Whilst torcs of this design were frequently formed out of bronze, gold torcs (as we see with golden ornaments in all civilizations) conferred superior status on their wearer. This lovely object gives us a wonderful insight into the skill and artistry of the metalworkers of that distant era’.
Paul Ruddock, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Victoria & Albert Museum, London, and Collector
This month, to celebrate St Patrick’s Day on 17 March, we are focusing on a rare treasure; the only Irish Torc in the Barber’s collection. A torc is an ornamented metal neck ring worn by Celts, Thracians, Scythians and Illyrians in ancient Europe to signify the attainment of manhood, warrior status or nobility by the wearer. Many torcs were designed for near-permanent wear and would have been difficult to remove; sometimes taken only by enemies who would have robbed them from dead or captured warriors in battle. This Bronze Age example is formed from a 245-gram square-section bar of 20-carat gold, patterned with spirals of irregular size and spacing. It was found, with other gold ornaments, in Carrowdore Bog County Down, Northern Ireland, along with a thin ribbon torc and two pins with decorative heads.
Purchased in 1943 by the Barber’s first director Thomas Bodkin (Bodkin was of Irish heritage), it was praised on account of its ‘lovely colour and bloom’. Its spiral design was made by twisting a rod of square section, and was considered highly unusual at the time. Simple, elegant, and understated, it was initially described as ‘untypical of Irish torcs’. Such a design is a mark of subtle sophistication for twisting a rod of gold in this way requires great artistry, and considerable expertise and understanding of the working properties of metal.
The discovery of Celtic art, particularly traditional Irish art in the 19th century, fuelled the imagination of many Romantic writers and artists who began exploring their national heritage and identity. Indeed, finds similar to this Irish torc would have inspired the Celtic Revival movement in the 19th and 20th centuries, and so the cultural significance of original pieces such as this, reach well beyond the ancient times in which they were made.
Tess Radcliffe, Learning and Access Officer.
A free gallery talk will be given by Tess Radcliffe on Thursday 17 March at 1.30pm
All welcome.
| What is your favourite work of art in the Barber Institute galleries? Drop us a line at info@barber.org.uk and let us know, and we could feature your choice in a future Picture of the Month. |