Meaning of Dublin Star?
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SilverSurfer
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Meaning of Dublin Star?
Having just purchased an Irish sterling soup ladle (John Pittar, 1794), I'm interested in the finial engraving that is variously called a Dublin star or Irish star. It is a starburst pattern of six or more commonly eight points that attends a fair amount of Irish flatware. It impresses me as some sort of national emblem or political statement, but my admittedly weak search fu has so far failed to identify an explanation. Might someone be able to shed some light on this? TIA!
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SilverSurfer
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Re: Meaning of Dublin Star?
No takers? Bueller?
Re: Meaning of Dublin Star?
Seen on Irish coins, early medieval Irish coins:
But if we go back even further, we see a star on the coins of Julius Caesar:
"The star symbol associated with Julius Caesar is the Sidus Iulium, also known as Caesar's Comet or the Julian Star. It was a comet that appeared in 44 BC, and was seen as a sign of Caesar's deification."
From a website that asks the question "Did the Roman Empire invade Ireland?"
"Lambay Island lies just off the coast of Dublin, where the burials of Romano-Briton warriors dated to the 1st century CE were discovered in 1927. Among the remains were five Romano-British brooches, scabbard mounds, a bronze finger ring, an iron mirror, a broken Iron sword, and a torc, a popular Romano-British neck ring.
It has been suggested that the deceased were Romanized Britons, possibly of the Brigantes tribe. Due to Ptolemy’s map of the British Isles from the 2nd century, there is evidence that the Brigantes most likely lived in both Northern Britain and southeast Ireland during this time.
Ptolemy mentioned that ‘Lismoy’ (later Lambay) was uninhabited at this time. However with this new evidence, scholars can assume that Ptolemy’s source material was outdated and that Romano-Britons were living on the island from as early as the late 1st century.
Recently, items discovered at the coastal site of Drumanagh just north of Dublin have made scholars believe that the Romans could have been there during their military campaigns of the 1st and 2nd centuries, using the coast as a beachhead."
The star on Irish Silver might have something to do with the influence of the Roman Empire on Ireland?
But if we go back even further, we see a star on the coins of Julius Caesar:
"The star symbol associated with Julius Caesar is the Sidus Iulium, also known as Caesar's Comet or the Julian Star. It was a comet that appeared in 44 BC, and was seen as a sign of Caesar's deification."
From a website that asks the question "Did the Roman Empire invade Ireland?"
"Lambay Island lies just off the coast of Dublin, where the burials of Romano-Briton warriors dated to the 1st century CE were discovered in 1927. Among the remains were five Romano-British brooches, scabbard mounds, a bronze finger ring, an iron mirror, a broken Iron sword, and a torc, a popular Romano-British neck ring.
It has been suggested that the deceased were Romanized Britons, possibly of the Brigantes tribe. Due to Ptolemy’s map of the British Isles from the 2nd century, there is evidence that the Brigantes most likely lived in both Northern Britain and southeast Ireland during this time.
Ptolemy mentioned that ‘Lismoy’ (later Lambay) was uninhabited at this time. However with this new evidence, scholars can assume that Ptolemy’s source material was outdated and that Romano-Britons were living on the island from as early as the late 1st century.
Recently, items discovered at the coastal site of Drumanagh just north of Dublin have made scholars believe that the Romans could have been there during their military campaigns of the 1st and 2nd centuries, using the coast as a beachhead."
The star on Irish Silver might have something to do with the influence of the Roman Empire on Ireland?
Re: Meaning of Dublin Star?
8-Pointed Star In Ireland = "Brunswick Star commonly used on police and military uniforms all across the former British Empire. It was introduced when the King of Hannover also became the King of Great Britain and King of Ireland; after Queen Anne (the last Stuart) died he was her closest legitimate Protestant relative."
"George I became King of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714 after inheriting the throne from Queen Anne.
George I was the first Hanoverian monarch of Great Britain.
How did George I become king?
The Act of Settlement in 1701 made George's mother, Sophia, heiress to the throne if Anne and William III died without children.
Sophia died in quick succession to Anne, making George King.
The Act of Settlement established a Protestant succession and removed Roman Catholics from the line of succession ."
Maybe the 8-pointed star was an early symbol of unity between Great Britain and Ireland?
Or Maybe the 8-pointed star was just a symbol of Ireland and only Ireland?
(it's a good question & I had always wondered this after reading the sugar tong website and looking at all the Irish examples)
"George I became King of Great Britain and Ireland in 1714 after inheriting the throne from Queen Anne.
George I was the first Hanoverian monarch of Great Britain.
How did George I become king?
The Act of Settlement in 1701 made George's mother, Sophia, heiress to the throne if Anne and William III died without children.
Sophia died in quick succession to Anne, making George King.
The Act of Settlement established a Protestant succession and removed Roman Catholics from the line of succession ."
Maybe the 8-pointed star was an early symbol of unity between Great Britain and Ireland?
Or Maybe the 8-pointed star was just a symbol of Ireland and only Ireland?
(it's a good question & I had always wondered this after reading the sugar tong website and looking at all the Irish examples)
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SilverSurfer
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- Joined: Tue May 31, 2005 12:42 am
Re: Meaning of Dublin Star?
Sorry about this late reply, was out of town for a while. Thank you for the responses. While they have shed light on the question, I still have a suspicion that there might be more of an explanation to support the frequency with which this star (both six and eight pointed) appears on Georgian period Irish flatware, and also suspect it may represent more a matter of independence from, rather than unity with, the British. Anyway, it's an impressive symbol, IMHO, no matter what it really means. It supports my admiration for the quality of much of Irish silver work of that time.
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