Fonsie Mealy Auctioneers
Lot 611
The MacMurrough Kavanagh Charter Horn This high-quality ceremonial Drinking Cup, in bog oak and brass, is a 19th century replica of the MacMurrough Kavanagh Charter Horn. The original, a 12th century drinking vessel, housed in a large ivory tusk (the body of which has been faceted to create 16 sides) and supported on a 15th century brass stand, is on display at the National Museum of Ireland. The brass stand, with clawed and webbed bird’s feet, was believed to have been added during the reign of Art Mór Mac Murchada (1357-1416). During his 42 year reign as King of Leinster, Art Mór Mac Murchada is best remembered for defying Richard II’s attempts to have him removed from power. The stand and rim transformed what was once probably a hunting horn, into a 52.5cm long ceremonial cup and it is believed that this cup was used during inauguration rituals. These overall ensemble is comparable to Scandinavian drinking horns from the same period. These 15th century alterations were signed by the maker, Tigurnanius O Lavan in a band of text which surrounds the top of the vessel. This epigraph, in black Gothic script, on a hatched background, reads ‘Tigurnanius O Lavan Me Fecit Deo Gracia Ihc’, (which translates as ‘Tiguranius O'Lavan made me for the love of God’). The 1818 Kavanagh pedigree book, housed at Borris House, details how the charter horn acted as the tenure by which the Kavanagh family held certain estates. The original charter horn was loaned to Trinity College Dublin by Thomas Kavanagh of Borris House, Co. Carlow in 1783. General Charles Vallancey had an engraving made of the cup; an engraving, attributed to Gabriel Beranger (1729-1817) that later appeared in Vallancey’s 1786 Collectanea de Rebus Hibernicis. The charter horn, which remains in Kavanagh ownership, was returned to Borris House in 1886 and remained there until deposited at the National Museum of Ireland for safe keeping in 1976. The original, is the only piece of Irish regalia to have survived from the medieval period of regional kingships. The Kavanagh family at Borris are directly descended from Diarmait Mac Murchada’s (Diarmuid MacMurrough) son Domhnall Caomhánach. MacLeod, writing in 1959, claims that the Kavanagh Charter horn was gifted by ‘King Henry II to Donal Kavanagh, the son of Dermot MacMurrough in 1175’. There are only two other known copies of the charter horn, one a large mid nineteenth century example commissioned and gifted to Arthur MacMurrough Kavanagh MP by a friend and colleague, and the second, a 19th century version in bog oak and brass (of slightly smaller proportions to the one on offer). Both of these copies are in the Kavanagh collection at Borris. Mr. Edmund Joyce, 2022
