Dysert O’Dea Cross exhibited in Dublin

A REPLICA of the famous Dysert O’Dea Cross is one of the key attractions in a major exhibition at the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks, Dublin. Replicas of some of the country’s most famous monastic treasures are part of the display, which will be open free of charge to the public until early next year.
The original Dysert O’Dea Cross dates to the 12th century and belongs to the later Romanesque series of crosses, which is dominated by high relief figures of the crucifixion and bishops or patrons. It has no ring and is composed of two sections, both displaying characteristics of the same school of masonry but may not have been intended for the same cross. The cross and its base were positioned on a stone plinth at a later date. The decorative motifs consist of large panels of interlaced animals similar to those on the Cross of Cong and the geometric fret or step patterns are like those on the shrines of St Patrick’s Bell and the Book of Dimma. The west face of the cross-head bears five lozenges with floral decoration and animal interlace with two dragons depicted biting a sphere.
The replica was cast in 1908 and was one of the last crosses to be copied. In light of escalating costs and the departure of the modeller Sig Giuntini, the casting of high crosses ceased. The era of industrial exhibitions and world fairs came to an end at the beginning of the 20th century and so too did the making and exhibition of plaster reproductions.
Along with the six casts of High Crosses, a selection of Irish early Christian treasures also feature in the exhibition. It is through the media of replicas that metalworks such as the Ardagh Chalice, Tara Brooch and the Cross of Cong can be positioned next to illuminated manuscripts such as the Book of Kells and occupying the same space as six of the most prised masonry feats of the Golden Age.
The exhibition seeks to draw all strands of The Golden Age together in one room and following a 100-year-old museum tradition, it employs replicas to communicate to the audience these three sister schools of craft, which has produced some of the finest art known in Western Europe.