“Shrine of the Bell of St. Patrick, 1091-1105” from Goldsmiths’ and Silversmiths’ Work by Nelson Dawson, published in 1907 by G. P. Putnam’s Sons in New York as part of The Connoisseur’s Library.
The text notes:
“Amongst things not seized by the northern pirates were the iron handbells of St. Patrick and the other early saints, which were regarded with special reverence by the Irish people. They are in themselves interesting, but they only concern us from the fact that when the country was recovering from the incursions and ravages of the northern foe, much care and attention were bestowed on the shrines or cases which were made to cover them. No longer used as bells, they had become relics and blessed remembrances of the saints who had given or bequeathed them, and all the wealth of design and imagery, and of patient and loving workmanship of the highest order, were bestowed on fitting covers that should preserve them forever.”
The shrine, which measures just over nine inches in height, is made from bronze, silver, gold, glass, and rock crystal and is trapezoidal in shape, mimicking the form of the bell. The front is decorated with gilded filigree panels (some missing) while the sides feature openwork panels centered by perforated cubes and rings once used to attach carrying chains, now lost. It is regarded as a highpoint of Irish metalwork from the Romanesque period. The shrine is on permanent display in the Treasury Room of the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin.