€9,500
The Shrine for the Bell of St Patrick
c. 1885. Electrotype, bronze, glass cabochons, the inside with 'Elkington Dept of Science & Art' medallion and 'Copyright Science and Art Dept' lozenge. height 11in (28cm); width 6in (15cm); depth 4 1/2in (11.5cm). (1)
During the 1860s the South Kensington Museum in London (now the Victoria and Albert Museum), campaigned to have electrotype and other copies made of important historic artefacts to aid in the dissemination of knowledge to provincial museums, schools, and libraries in Great Britain and across the world. In 1867 the "Convention for the International Exchange of Works of Art" was signed by fifteen of Europe's heads of state, which led to companies like Elkington & Co. traveling across Europe to take casts of important relics that were then precisely reproduced by the still relatively new electrotype method.
The original bell shrine from which the present model has been cast dates to around 1100 A.D. and is on display at the National Museum of Ireland, Dublin. It was made to contain a bell that is reputed to have been owned by St. Patrick in the fifth century and is one of the principal relics of Ireland. An example by Elkington of the shrine is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (07.65.1). (1)
Ref: Similar to Lot 159: October 6th, 2020, Bonhams, New York.
-All stones are present
- Please see additional images
Fees apply to the hammer price:
Free Registration
28.69% inc VAT*
Flat Fee Registration
25.00% inc VAT*
