The Broighter Collar is a first century Celtic golden torc that was found—along with other contemporary artifacts—in 1896 by a man plowing a field in what is now Northern Ireland. It is hollow and decorated with stylized horses, birds and a concentric arching pattern.
Torcs were a particular type of necklace or collar that was everywhere in the ancient Celtic world, and they were considered a sign of nobility and high social status.The word torc comes from the Latin torquis meaning "to twist". It was likely called this because a common style of torc design was braiding or twisting the mettle.
Pictured above is a Roman sculpture called The Dying Gaul which depicts a wounded Gaulish warrior—naked except for his torc. This is in keeping with an account by Polybius who described a particular group of Celtic warriors (probably mercenaries) who fought nude at the Battle of Telamon in 225 B.C.E.
Most torcs clearly do not have a gap large enough to slip around a persons’ neck. Surprisingly, the method for getting them off and on again was actually to bend the opening farther apart, put it on, and bend it back into place. Gold is a soft mettle for this kind of treatment, and many torcs (though not this one) were made of strands of gold wire woven together—which would have further eased this process. Over time though, repeated warping does cause mettle to become brittle and eventually break. This is why the Broighter Collar and so many other torcs have been found snapped in half.
Sources:
“Broighter Collar.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, https://www.ancient.eu/image/4285/broighter-collar/.
“Broighter Collar: The Treasury: Exhibition.” National Museum of Ireland, https://www.museum.ie/Archaeology/Exhibitions/Current-Exhibitions/The-Treasury/Gallery-1-Iron-Age-to-12th-Century/Broighter-Collar-(1).
“Torc: Definition of Torc by Lexico.” Lexico Dictionaries | English, Lexico Dictionaries, https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/torc.
“National Gallery of Art.” The Dying Gaul: An Ancient Roman Masterpiece from the Capitoline Museum, Rome, https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2013/dying-gaul.html.
“How Do You Put on a Torc?” The British Museum Blog, 13 Jan. 2017, https://blog.britishmuseum.org/how-do-you-put-on-a-torc/.
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| The Broighter Collar at the National Museum of Ireland-Archaeology |
Torcs were a particular type of necklace or collar that was everywhere in the ancient Celtic world, and they were considered a sign of nobility and high social status.The word torc comes from the Latin torquis meaning "to twist". It was likely called this because a common style of torc design was braiding or twisting the mettle.
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| The Dying Gaul |
Pictured above is a Roman sculpture called The Dying Gaul which depicts a wounded Gaulish warrior—naked except for his torc. This is in keeping with an account by Polybius who described a particular group of Celtic warriors (probably mercenaries) who fought nude at the Battle of Telamon in 225 B.C.E.
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| The Broighter Collar |
Most torcs clearly do not have a gap large enough to slip around a persons’ neck. Surprisingly, the method for getting them off and on again was actually to bend the opening farther apart, put it on, and bend it back into place. Gold is a soft mettle for this kind of treatment, and many torcs (though not this one) were made of strands of gold wire woven together—which would have further eased this process. Over time though, repeated warping does cause mettle to become brittle and eventually break. This is why the Broighter Collar and so many other torcs have been found snapped in half.
Sources:
“Broighter Collar.” Ancient History Encyclopedia, Ancient History Encyclopedia, https://www.ancient.eu/image/4285/broighter-collar/.
“Broighter Collar: The Treasury: Exhibition.” National Museum of Ireland, https://www.museum.ie/Archaeology/Exhibitions/Current-Exhibitions/The-Treasury/Gallery-1-Iron-Age-to-12th-Century/Broighter-Collar-(1).
“Torc: Definition of Torc by Lexico.” Lexico Dictionaries | English, Lexico Dictionaries, https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/torc.
“National Gallery of Art.” The Dying Gaul: An Ancient Roman Masterpiece from the Capitoline Museum, Rome, https://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2013/dying-gaul.html.
“How Do You Put on a Torc?” The British Museum Blog, 13 Jan. 2017, https://blog.britishmuseum.org/how-do-you-put-on-a-torc/.
The Broighter Collar is very beautiful and I love all the details! Given that it's made out of gold, it would have been very noticeable in a crowd. I guess that would have been the aim though, since it was a sign of wealth. I like that you added the Roman statue (and story behind it) because it shows that these cultures interacted--they weren't completely separate as each developed or declined.
ReplyDeleteI have seen modern jewelry similar to these torcs, but have never known what to call them. Very interesting
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting that they would bend a piece of expensive jewelry with such little reservation. These days, you certainly wouldn't want to do that to something like that!
ReplyDeleteMy first thought was: How heavy those must have been to wear around your neck, but then you described how they were made of gold wires twisted together. They look like solid chunks of gold so it amazes me that they can twist and bend so easily.
ReplyDeleteVery beautiful entry--and I agree with Gwynn--the link to the Dying Gaul is quite unique to show the existence of the native people of Europe far before the Middle Ages.
ReplyDeleteTop-notch work here. A large, but manageable amount of information from a variety of sources. This was an interesting piece to learn about. Seeing it crop up in Roman works speaks to the longevity of the Celtic culture, and just how ancient some of their traditions were.
ReplyDeleteI guess fashion does repeat itself, right? With chokers being popular on and off, these artifacts reminded me today's jewelry, but much more beautiful and intentional. Great find!
ReplyDeleteThat is fascinating. I had not idea that was something that they did. It goes to show how skilled the Germanic people were at metal working
ReplyDeleteI think this was a very interesting post! It's interesting to me to see ancient fashion trends because of how similar they are sometimes to today's trends. Do you know how the trend of this piece started? Was it religious or was it just purely fashionable? Let me know what you think!
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to me that this collar would be something that represented wealth and nobility back then. This could have more to do with me thinking about a collar on a dog though. I loved how informative yet entertaining your post was!
ReplyDeleteeven in today's world sometimes people wear gold necklace in special occasions and they are sign of well being. I believe we have adopted this tradition from the past and it is interesting to see how the past also influences the present in many small everyday things.
ReplyDeleteThis was a very interesting topic. This also looks so painful. I think it's odd they chose such a heavy and what we now associate with dogs to show wealth and money. But much like Francesco said, I guess people today do still war gold necklaces and they serve the same purpose, as the collar back in the day.
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