Spiral (ribbon) torque
about 1200–1000 B.C.
Medium/TechniqueMetal; gold
Dimensions9.02 cm (3 9/16 in.)
Credit LineGift of the Eire Society and Harriet Otis Cruft Fund
Accession number50.10
ClassificationsGold
Provenance1882, discovered at Innishowen, County Donegal, Ireland by Rev. Dr. William Chadwick Neligan, Cork; sold by Neligan to Augustus Henry Pitt Rivers (b. 1827 - d. 1900) and kept at the Pitt Rivers Museum, Farnham, England; 1936, sold by the Pitt Rivers Museum, through John Hunt (b. 1900 - d. 1976), Dublin and London, represented by Goldschmidt Galleries, New York, to William Randolph Hearst (b. 1863 - d. 1951), New York and Los Angeles [see note 1]; July 11, 1939, Hearst sale, Sotheby's, London, lot 363, bought in; 1941, sold by Hearst to Berry-Hill Gallery, New York; 1950, sold by Berry-Hill to the MFA for $500. (Accession Date: January 12, 1950)
NOTES:
[1] The provenance information for MFA object nos. 50.8-50.10 was generously shared and clarified by Brian O'Connell, Shannon Heritage Trust (correspondence of August 13, 2008, in MFA curatorial file).
