While this beautiful brooch may have been hand carved almost 150 years ago, the material used is centuries older!

What's this medieval material you might ask? It's bog oak!

Bog oak is a type of fossilized wood -- usually oak, but sometimes pine or yew -- that has been preserved in the peat bogs of Ireland for centuries. The lack of oxygen in the bog and its acidic conditions react with the tannins in the wood turning the oak almost black and making it extremely hard. So hard that jewelers required specialized tools and techniques just to carve it. 

Bog oak jewelry had a humble start in the early 19th century before surging in popularity in the 1860s following the death of Queen Victoria's husband, Prince Albert.

Because of its rich, dark color, bog oak became a popular material for mourning jewelry, but it also was widely used to create pieces celebrating Irish heritage as well as Irish souvenirs sold to tourists. In fact, bog oak jewelry and craftsmanship became known as the "craft of Ireland."

This lovely piece falls into the latter category. 

This sizeable brooch features an intricate, three-dimensional carving of an Irish abbey, possibly Dunbrody Abbey. Though, it could honestly also be Cahir castle, it's so hard to tell! Both castles and abbeys were popular motifs for these Irish tourist pieces. 

Sadly, these fossilized wood pieces fell out of fashion by the 1890s. Thankfully, we have this miniature work of art to remember this time-forgotten craft.