Crucifixion plaque

The term Crucifixion plaque refers to small Early Medieval sculptures consisting of a central panel of the still alive but crucified Jesus surrounded by four smaller ancillary panels showing Stephaton and Longinus (the lance and sponge bearers) in the lower quadrants, and two hovering attendant angels in the quadrants above his arms. Notable examples are found in classical Roman (usually of ivory) and 8th to mid-12th century Insular art.

All of the plaque's borders have cavities intended to hold nails or rivets (some of which survive), indicating that they were once attached to larger ecclesiastical objects, perhaps to metal altar crosses such as the Tully Lough Cross, wooden altarpieces or metal book shrines.^[1]

There are eight surviving Irish examples, although many more were produced. Each is cast bronze or copper alloy, and based on their ornamentation and iconography, are mostly dated to between the late 9th and 12th centuries. Apart from one, they are all of openwork (ie the figures were formed from holes, piercings, or gaps punched into the metal).^[2] The group share similar size and geographical spread, with find spots ranging from the broad area between Clonmacnoise in County Offaly and Tynan, County Armagh.^[3] The plaques are all cast as single pieces and with the exception of the late 7th or early 8th century Rinnegan Crucifixion Plaque and the later Lismore plaque, have a unifying border.^[4] It is thought that their format and iconography are based on similar designs from earlier illuminated gospels, including the Book of Kells and Southampton Psalter.

Their format is likely influenced by folios from early illuminated gospels, and it is likely that the craftsmen had copies of these at hand. Examples include folio 200r of the Book of Kells, f.38v from the Southampton Psalter, miniatures from the Irish Gospels of St. Gall,^[5] and Durham Gospels, and the spear-bearer on the c. 1026 cumdach for the Stowe Missal.^[6][7]

The plaques are generally made from bronze or copper alloy,^[9] with the very early Rinnegan plaque showing evidence of gilding that is now lost.^[10] Except for one badly damaged example which is solid, they all are built from openwork.^[2] They all have a central panel depicting the Crucifixion of Jesus, surrounded by four smaller ancillary figures. In all, the lower two side panels show the biblical figures of Stephaton (the sponge-bearer at The Crucifixion) and Longinus (the lance-bearer) at Christ's feet, and each of the panels above Christ's head show a hovering and attendant angel. A number of the earlier plaques, including those from Rinnegan and Clonmacnoise, contain curvilinear Celtic designs, including spirals and interlace.^[11] The Clonmacnoise plaque contains two small crosses on either side of Christ's head.^[12]

Christ is always far larger than the attendant angels and soldiers. He is usually bearded and with open eyes, and apart from the Clonmacnoise plaque, his feet are turned away from each other.^[12] In six examples, he is naked except for a loincloth;^[5] in the Rinnegan and Clonmacnoise plaques, he is given a full-length long-sleeved garment decorated with interlace patterns. Earlier examples, such as the Rinnegan plaque, contain Ultimate La Tène designs.^[7] In some plaques, including that found in Cell Dalua, Christ wears a loin cloth or skirt, while in the Tynan plaques his garment ends above his knees.^[13]

The reverse of the panels are typically plain and unadorned and contain multiple rivet holes (some of which are still in place in the Clonmacnoise plaque),^[12] indicating that they were once attached to larger metal or wooden objects.^[10][14]

The plaques were rediscovered in the 19th and 20th centuries, having been buried or hidden since the early medieval period, most likely to protect them from invading Vikings or Norman forces.^[15]

The absence of Viking-influenced animal or zoomorphic designs indicates that they were produced before the 11th century.^[16] While some archaeologists suggest dating as late as the early 12th century, the consensus is that the majority originate from between 1000 and 1150.^[11] Against this, the Clonmacnoise plaque contains vegetative decorations reminiscent of the 11th-century Ringerike style of Viking art.^[16] The Clonmacnoise plaque is further linked to contemporary metal objects such as the Lismore Crozier, including its technical and stylistic approaches and the yet then use of the difficult-to-source silver inlay.^[6]

The plaques were most likely intended to decorate larger ecclesiastical objects such processional wooden crosses, book shrines or altar frontals (antependiums) .^[10][2][5] This theory is supported by the number of similar mounds and inserts on contemporary or earlier altars and crosses. A similarly sized mount is positioned on the lower part of the 8th or 9th century Tully Lough Cross,^[17] while similar compositions can be found on, amongst others, the Ullard cross in County Kilkenny, the Cross of St. Columba and St. Patrick at the Abbey of Kells, the South Cross at Clonmacnoise,^[18] and a cross on Calf of Man island.

The archaeologist Peter Harbison favoured the idea that they were used as pax-plates (objects used for the Kiss of peace during mass) given the typical wear around Christ's head which he speculates was because they were passed between members of the clergy and congregation to be kissed.^[19][20] He further suggested that the plaques were produced by a single workshop, a theory refuted in 2014 by Griffin Murray who points out both their geographical dispersion and provenance (although all seem to have been produced in or around Southern Ulster)^[3] and differences when analysed under x-ray fluorescence.^[21]

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  Crucifixion miniature from the Irish Gospels of St. Gall, 8th century
• 
  Detail of a panel on the upper arm of the 8th- or 9th-century Tully Lough Cross
• 
  Southampton Psalter, f.38v; at least 9th century

In 1980, Harbison proposed the plaques as a distinct type. At the time, there were six plaques which he discerned were connected based on their form and iconography.^[4] He established that, except for the c. 800 AD Rinnegan plaque, they all dated to c. 1100 AD, while earlier archaeologists had argued that they dated from anywhere between the 9th and 12th centuries. Harbison divided the plaques into two broad groupings based on their find-spots and style, and argued that these examples originated from two individual workshops: in Clonmacnoise, County Offaly (with a range from County Mayo to Offaly) and in Dungannon, County Tyrone (in the North of Ireland).^[22] Stylistically, Harbison argued that the ancillary figures on the Clonmacnoise plaques stand upright, while the angels in the Dungannon group hover and the soldier are crouched.^[23]

Since Harbison's 1980 journal, the Dungannon Plaque is now localised to Tynan, County Armagh, near the find-spot of another plaque in Anketell, County Monaghan, while another example is now thought to originate from Lismore, County Waterford. Based on this findings, Murray further divided the plaques into the "Tynan", "Clonmacnoise", "Klllalon" groups (centred around Kells, County Meath, north-west of Dublin) and "others".^[24]

The Tynan grouping consists of the very similar Tynan and Anketell plaques, thought to have been produced by a workshop based in Armagh. The Anketell plaque was found in Emyvale, County Monaghan, around ten kilometers west of Tynan. They are assumed to have been produced later than the other plaques, given their resemblance to the figures on the crucified figure on Saint Mel's Cross and other late 12th century artefacts.^[26]

In both, Christ's head, hands and feet extend over the outer frame, and he is emaciated with clearly visible ribs. Longinus is crouched and holds a spear held diagonally against Christ's right side. The frames in both plaques are elaborately decorated and divided by semi-circular arches.^[27]

• 
  The Clonmacnoise Crucifixion Plaque, late-10th or early-11th century. h: 8.0 cm (3.1 in) w: 7.3 cm (2.9 in)

• 
  The Kells Crucifixion Plaque, British Museum^[14]
• 
  Crucifixion plaque from Killaloe, County Clare, NMI

• Four plaques of unknown provenance, including three dated to the 12th century at the NMI and one acquired by the British Museum in 1983, from County Kilkenny and dated to the 11th or 12th centuries.^[15][14]
• A lost plaque known only from a 19th-century watercolour reproduction.^[5]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Crucifixion plaques.

• Rinnagan Crucifixion Plaque. A History of Ireland in 100 Objects, 2013. The Irish Times, National Museum of Ireland and Royal Irish Academy