Tara Brooch
The Tara Brooch, a masterpiece of early medieval Irish metalwork, is a silver-gilt annular brooch decorated with gold filigree panels, amber studs and coloured glass, made in Ireland around the eighth century AD. It was found in 1850 on the beach near Bettystown, County Meath, and was given the name 'Tara' by its first owner to exploit the royal associations of the Hill of Tara for sale. The brooch is one of the finest surviving examples of Insular art, its interlacing animal and geometric patterns echoing the illuminated manuscripts of the same period, and it survives with its original chain