36 



Dr. Petrie exhibited an ancient brooch belonging to Mr. 

 Waterhouse, of Dame-street. 



" Sir, — By permission of Mr. Waterhouse, of Dame-street, 

 I have the pleasure of exhibiting to the Academy a very re- 

 markable specimen of ancient Irish art, — a fibula, or brooch, 

 which came, a few months since, into that gentleman's posses- 

 sion. In availing myself, however, of this permission, I must 

 confess my incompetency to treat of the skill exhibited in the 

 workmanship, or of the taste in the design of this surpassingly 

 beautiful article, which, though not much differing in its gene- 

 ral form from various specimens of the Irish fibulas in our own 

 and other collections of antiquities, is superior to any hitherto 

 found in the variety of its ornaments, and in the exquisite de- 

 licacy and perfection of its execution. From such acquaintance 

 as I have been able to acquire with the progress of ornamental 

 art in Ireland, I may, perhaps, venture an opinion as to the 

 age to which, with the greatest probability, this article may 

 be ascribed ; but to treat of, or properly illustrate, the various 

 mechanical arts exhibited in its manufacture, would require 

 a greater amount of knowledge than I can pretend to, and a 

 greater expenditure of time in the preparation than, from pe- 

 culiar circumstances, I have lately had at my disposal ; and 

 besides I have no doubt that there are, within our Academy, 

 many members who are better qualified than myself to under- 

 take and accomplish this difficult and peculiar task. In short, 

 my present object is little more than to present this beautiful 

 remain to the notice of the Academy, and to direct their atten- 

 tion to a few of its more striking peculiarities. 



" Of these peculiarities, perhaps, the first that should be 

 noticed is that of the metal of which the brooch is chiefly com- 

 posed. This metal is apparently, and was for some time sup- 

 posed to be silver ; but this supposition has been found to be 

 erroneous, and that it is in reality that harder metal formed 

 by a combination of copper and tin, and usually known by the 

 appellation of white bronze. 



