ANCIENT CELTIC SILVER "RIBBON" TORC
LIKELY IRELAND, C. 500 B.C. - 500 A.D.
£45,200
Antiquities and African & Oceanic Art
Auction: Antiquities - 31 July 2024 at 2pm
Description
silver, spirally twisted thin bands with slightly recurved ends and a chased chevron pattern throughout
Dimensions
approx. 10cm diameter
Provenance
Provenance:
Private collection, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, acquired by the family in the 1920s, thence by descent, by family repute, the piece originally belonged to Robert Carfrae (1820-1900).
Footnote
For similar please see:
The Metropolitan Museum, New York, accession number 2013.613
National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, accession number(s) X.FD 33 & X.FD 34
The present style of torc or armlet is exceptionally rare, and is at present only known from a single hoard discovered near Rathcormack, Co. Cork in 1882 - 1883. The hoard is first described in the 'Proceedings' section of the Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (Anon. 1883-4, 52) where it was noted that Ralph Westropp of Cork exhibited a silver torc with the accompanying note:
“It seems that this was found near Rathcormack, county of Cork, with five others of similar make, about the close of last year or early in the present one, by a peasant, beneath a stone in a field, when ploughing.”
The three recorded examples above, currently residing in the National Museum of Scotland and the Metropolitan Museum are all known to have originated from the Rathcormack Hoard, and it seems likely (though unproven) that the present piece shares this provenance.