Irish brooch age?

Discussion in 'Jewelry' started by Bobby S, Nov 14, 2020.

  1. Bobby S

    Bobby S Member

    Hello to all, I found this interesting brooch in my travels today and had a few questions about it.
    It seems to be some type of brass Irish brooch. It has the word o'coileain at the top, which is an irish name, or surname.
    It is very large, it measures 5 inches wide by 3 and 3/4 inches tall. I seen some similar online but none were flat like this one.
    The clasp on the back seems to look older, so my questions would be:
    Can anyone put an approximate age on it?
    Should i clean it with brass cleaner?
    Is it just a modern reproduction?
    I would like to thank everyone for the help in advance, as always keplnul the great work! 20201114_112409_compress64.jpg 20201114_112515_compress77.jpg 20201114_112459_compress70.jpg 20201114_112542_compress57.jpg 20201114_112538_compress94.jpg 20201114_112520_compress86.jpg 20201114_112529_compress76.jpg
     
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  2. BMRT

    BMRT Jewelry cherry-picker, lover of silver

    Someone more knowledgeable will be along, but I would not advise taking brass cleaner to it. A shine cloth would work well on this, I think. It does not look corroded or very dirty at all. The detail is fine and it would be a shame to take a harsh chemical to it.
     
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  3. Hollyblue

    Hollyblue Well-Known Member

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  4. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    I've an almost identical one. They're based on the Book of Kells. Yours is a bit younger E18C.jpg E18B.jpg E18A (2).jpg than mine, the back looks 30s, but they've been made as souvenirs for decades. I'd only use a Sunshine cloth on it.
     
    kyratango likes this.
  5. Bobby S

    Bobby S Member

    Thanks for the info
     
  6. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    I'm with Holly, it is based on the Tara brooch. Which has nothing to do with Tara btw, it was the name a seller gave to it.
    With a clan name on it, I imagine they would be sold in clan centres and souvenir shops.

    Tara brooch:

    [​IMG]
     
  7. Ownedbybear

    Ownedbybear Well-Known Member

    aj, I did actually find a similar image to mine in the Kells images. I'll see if I can find it again.

    The name is the Gaelic for Collins.
     
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  8. Any Jewelry

    Any Jewelry Well-Known Member

    Correct.:)
     
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  9. Fid

    Fid Well-Known Member

    "after" Irish cloak fibula.
     
    kyratango likes this.
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