Petrie Crown
La Tene Celtic Metalwork From Iron Age in Ireland.
Cork Arts and Crafts

Petrie Crown

Discovered in County Cork, the Petrie Crown, along with the Broighter Gold Collar and Boat, is another masterpiece of early Irish Celtic metalworking from the pagan Iron Age (400 BCE - 100 CE). Part of an elaborate horned head-dress, it was created in the La Tène style (repousse style), which was influenced by Etruscan and Greek art forms, it is made from separate bronze pieces riveted together.

The circular bronze band is ornamented with attached concave roundels or circular discs, decorated with triskeles or spiral designs centred with birds' heads. Other bronze-sheet attachments, including a hollowed horn, are decorated with beads and form the crown itself. The influence of native Irish metalwork on this La Tène Celtic artwork is visible in the curvilinear patterns, and the symbol of the sun. The bird heads on the cone and discs of the crown were once filled with red enamel, as were settings in the bosses on the discs, one of which still contains an enamel stud.

Part of George Petrie's Collection

The Petrie Crown - which incidentally is not considered by some scholars to have been used as a headpiece - used to be part of a collection owned by George Petrie, the Irish antiquary, archaeologist and artist of the nineteenth century. He oversaw the Royal Irish Academy's acquisition of many illuminated Irish manuscripts, including a version of the Annals of the Four Masters, as well as examples of Hiberno-Saxon Insular metalwork, such as the Cross of Cong. His expertise on early Irish archaeology and architecture, particularly his book 'The Round Towers of Ireland', earned him the nickname "the father of Irish archaeology". The Petrie Crown now resides in the National Museum of Ireland and is one of the great artifacts in the early history of Irish art.

• For more about Irish cultural history and craftwork, see: Visual Arts in Ireland.
• For information about art and crafts in Ireland, see: Irish Art: Visual Arts Cork.

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