Lunula

between 1800 and 1600 BCE

Irish

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About the Artwork

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Markings

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Provenance

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Exhibition History

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Published References

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Catalogue Raisonné

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About the Artwork

Title Lunula

Artwork Date between 1800 and 1600 BCE

Artist ----------

Life Dates ----------

Nationality Please note: Definitions for nationality may vary significantly, depending on chronology and world events. Some definitions include: Belonging to a people having a common origin based on a geography and/or descent and/or tradition and/or culture and/or religion and/or language, or sharing membership in a legally defined nation. Irish

Culture Please note: Cultures may be defined by the language, customs, religious beliefs, social norms, and material traits of a group. Unknown

Medium Gold

Dimensions Overall: 1 5/16 × 7 3/8 inches, 2.2 ounces (3.4 × 18.8 cm, 63.4 g)

Classification Metalwork

Department Greco-Roman and Ancient European

Credit City of Detroit Purchase

Accession Number This unique number is assigned to an individual artwork as part of the cataloguing process at the time of entry into the permanent collection. Most frequently, accession numbers begin with the year in which the artwork entered the museum’s holdings. For example, 2008.3 refers to the year of acquisition and notes that it was the 3rd of that year. The DIA has a few additional systems—no longer assigned—that identify specific donors or museum patronage groups. 53.273

Markings

Inscriptions ------

Provenance

possibly found 1842, (County Donegal, near Ardara, Ireland)

sold 1884, collection of Lord Londesborough

sold 1936, (Goldschmidt Galleries, London, England)

collection of William Randolph Hearst

July 11-12, 1939, sale of the William Randolph Hearst Collection by (Sotheby & Co., London, England), lot 366, pl. XI [bought in]

1941, sale of the William Randolph Hearst Collection, (possibly Gimbels Department Store, New York, USA)

1953, (Berry-Hill Galleries, New York, New York, USA)

1953-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

For more information on provenance and its important function in the museum, please visit:

Provenance page

Exhibition History

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The exhibition history of a number of objects in our collection only begins after their acquisition by the museum, and may reflect an incomplete record.

We welcome your feedback for correction and/or improvement.

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Published References

Society of Antiquaries of London, Archaeologia, or Miscellaneous tracts relating to antiquity, vol. 30 (1842(3?)-44): pl. 12.

Crocker, T. C. Catalogue of the Collection of Rings etc. for Lady Londesborough. London, 1853, p. 51, no. 126.

Fairholt, F. W. and T. Wright. Miscellanea Graphica: Representations of Ancient, Medieval and Renaissance Remains in the Possession of Lord Londesborough. London, 1857, pl. 17.

Chaffers, W. Catalog of the Londesborough Collection of Arms and Armour. Dublin Exhibition of 1872, no. 1219.

Catalogue of the Important Collection of Antiquities, the Property of William Randolph Hearst. Sales cat., Sotheby & Co. London, July 11-12, 1939, lot 366, pl. XI.

Robinson, F. W. "Eight Examples of Prehistoric Irish Gold," Bulletin of the DIA 33, nos. 3-4 (1953-54): p. 64-5, (ill.) p. 65.

Taylor, J. "Lunulae Reconsidered," in Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society, vol. 36 (1970): pp. 38-81.

Motz, T. A. "A Catalogue of Irish Prehistoric Gold Jewelry in the Collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts," unpublished master's thesis, Wayne State University, Detroit, 1978, no. 2, p. 17-23, pl. IV-VI.

Motz, T. A. "Irish Gold in Detroit," Bulletin of the DIA 57, no. 2 (1979): pp. 84, 85, (fig. 1E) [article pp. 83-88, group photo p. 82].

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