Sol D'or Celtic Penannular Irish Brooch Pin and 46 similar items

This is a beautiful silvertone Celtic penannular brooch by Sol D'or. This large brooch is set with multi-coloured green, blue and pink glass stones. Penannular brooches, used as cloak pins, were worn by the Celts in Britain from about the third century into early Christian times. Worn at the shoulder or breast, the brooches were as small as an inch in diameter, or quite large. Some were plain bronze, iron or copper, and some jewelled and decorated with gilt, but all had one thing in common: a long loose pin that could slide around the ring. Penannular means almost a ring. Some were pseudo-penannular, i.e., made to look like true penannulars, except that the opening, although indicated, was closed. To use a true penannular brooch, you insert the loose pin through a fold of fabric, bring the pin through from back to front through the opening, and then turn the ring to keep it on firmly. Sounds complicated? It isn't, and besides, six centuries of Celts did it to keep their cloaks on. These brooches eventually developed into the great Irish pieces, of which the most famous is the eighth-century Tara brooch, often shown in books of Celtic art. This piece is a modern adaptation of the penannular brooch since a pin is on the back of the brooch.