173 



those characters are assigned leaves open a wide field for conjecture 

 as to the time in which these porcelain seals found their way into this 

 country. From the extreme degree of heat to which they appear to 

 have been subjected, and their consequent vitrification, which has in 

 some measure taken place, they are quite as capable of resisting the at- 

 tacks of time as the glass and porcelain deities and ornaments found in 

 the mummy-cases of Egypt, and may have been for an indefinite period 

 beneath the surface of the earth. It is, therefore, at least possible that 

 they may have arrived hither from the East along with the weapons, 

 ornaments, and other articles of commerce which were brought to these 

 islands by the ships of the first merchant princes of antiquity, the 

 Phoenicians, to whom our ports and harbours were well known." 



The late Mr. Edward Getty, with great industry and zeal, gathered 

 all the scattered information bearing on the discovery of these seals in 

 different localities. He read a paper on the subject before the Belfast 

 Literary Society in 1850; and afterwards published a 4to volume with 

 copies of the inscriptions in Chinese characters, translations of them by 

 competent authorities, and brief statements of the circumstances under 

 which they were found. The work is illustrated by an enlarged draw- 

 ing of one of the seals, and is a trustworthy resume of the entire 

 question up to the time it appeared. 



Mr. J. W, Murphy, of Belfast, and Mr. Robert Ball, of this city, 

 both laboured in investigating this subject with much ability. I possess 

 wax or plaster copies of the inscriptions of several of the seals, made 

 by Mr. Ball, and entrusted to me by his son. Ife wrote, however, 

 nothing regarding them; and Mr. Murphy's observations were trans- 

 ferred to Mr. Getty. The earliest intimation of Chinese seals being 

 found in Ireland is, perhaps, a brief query in the "Anthologia" for 

 1793. This is merely a copy of a Chinese inscription, similar to what 

 occurs on the seals, and a request for its translation : there is no history 

 or clue by which it can be traced. 



So far as I can ascertain, records exist, more or less complete, of 

 about sixty- one seals, which appear to have been sown broadcast over 

 the country in some strange way that I cannot offer a solution of. 

 Thus I find that, whilst more than half have either no authentic history, 

 or are roughly ascribed to localities in the south of Ireland, the 



County of Antrim affords 1 County of Kilkenny 1 



Down ,, 3 ,, Tipperary 3 



Dublin ,,3 „ Wexford 1 



,, Carlo w ,, 2 ,, Limerick 1 



,, Queen's ,, 1 ,, Cork 6 



,, Westmeath 1 ,, "Waterford 4 



The history of these seals, if investigated, presents one common 

 point of agreement that seems of much importance. They have never 

 yet, in a single instance, been discovered associated with other objects 

 of antiquarian interest, in burrows or mounds, with bronze or stone 

 weapons, Celtic remains, or works of art — never with Danish or Anglo- 



