Breac Maodhóg

The Breac Maodhóg is a relatively large Irish reliquary, today in the National Museum of Ireland. It is thought to date from the second half of the 11th century, although periods as early as the 9th century have been proposed, the later dating is believed more likely based on the style of its decoration. The shrine is made from large plates of bronze on a wooden base, on which are placed series of relief figures on bronze plaques. At a height of 190mm and width of 92mm, it is relatively large compared to similar objects of its type. It was for centuries kept in a small decorated leather satchel, which was slightly too small for the shrine and is thought to have been designed to hold a manuscript.

House-shaped reliquaries date back to at least the 8th century. The figures in the Breac Maodhóg are made from bronze, but so finely moulded that they resemble wood carvings. Mostly clerics, saints and apostles, they are placed in groupings, some of which are now lost or badly damaged. The surviving figures are given highly individualistic facial feature, expressions and poses. They wear elaborate hairstyles and are dressed in luxurious finery, and the folds of their flowing robes are highly detailed.

The most well known figures are of two saints or clerics on the right hand side of the middle register. The saint on the left has a melancholy expression, drooping eyes, and holds his head in one hand, as if sighing. The musician on one side of the front-plate is playing what is thought to be the oldest extant visual representation of a harp.

The Breac Maodhóg was thought in the early modern period to have originated at Drumlane monastery, County Cavan, however its first mention, in a 15th century "Life of the saint", describes its donation to the village of Rossinver, County Leitrim by the Bishop Máedóc of Ferns. Its provenance for many centuries is unclear, one account notes that the shrine was "preserved for centuries in Drumlane, and was stolen in the present century from the Roman Catholic priest of that parish".

Due to its age, it is overall in poor condition.

Sources

• Laing, Lloyd. The Archaeology of Celtic Britain and Ireland: C.AD 400 - 1200. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. ISBN 978-0-5218-3862-7
• O'Toole, Fintan. A History of Ireland in 100 Objects. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 2013. ISBN 978-1-9089-9615-2
• Moss, Rachel. Medieval c. 400—c. 1600: Art and Architecture of Ireland. Yale University Press, 2014. ISBN 978-03-001-7919-4
• Murray, Griffin. "A Note on the Provenance of the Breac Maodhóg". The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland. Volume 135, 2005