Reproduction of the Hunterston Brooch in Scotland and Ireland, c. 1850–1900

The eighth-century Hunterston brooch was found at Hunterston, Ayrshire in Scotland around 1830. The distinctive features of the Hunterston brooch, including a later tenth-century runic inscription, made it an ideal model for replication as part of the wider trend for archaeological style jewellery in Europe during the second half of the nineteenth century. The Hunterston brooch and its analogue, the ‘Tara’ brooch, serve as notable examples of Insular artefacts that were reproduced commercially by jewellers in both Scotland and Ireland. This paper will provide a comparative analysis of Scottish and Irish approaches towards the reproduction of the Hunterston brooch, focused on the following key areas: ownership and access to the original brooch, including the publicity surrounding its discovery and display; the distribution of scholarship on the original brooch, including images and detailed technical descriptions in antiquarian journals, newspapers, exhibition and sale catalogues; the manufacture of facsimiles of the original brooch, including the reproductive processes utilised, size and scale of the copies, and their accuracy.