The Ardagh Chalice

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Object No. 30 Ardagh chalice, eighth century

National Museum of Ireland - Archaeology, Kildare St. Dublin.

I am silver.

A gleaming, shiny clean silver

that has been restored.

I am ancient.

I have existed for a thousand years

and will cease to die.

I am beautiful.

My precious gems still glitter brightly,

my abstraction is entrancing.

I am intricate.

Delicate intertwined gold lies on my body.

It is the work of filigree.

I am historical.

Beneath my exterior lies

stories and tales of my creators.

I am intact.

I have been perfectly preserved

in all the years that have passed.

And I will remain forever,

as I am too memorable to be forgotten.

I am the Ardagh Chalice.