An exhibition bringing together six plaster cast replicas of Irish high crosses at the National Museum is launched officially today.
Event organisers say the replicas are among the greatest examples of how powerful religious communities supported and encouraged art in Early Christian Ireland.
The temporary exhibition at Collins Barracks in Dublin will examine and compare how high crosses featured scenes which taught biblical stories to the faithful.
Dr Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum, said he had wanted to bring the crosses together in Ireland after being one of two million people to see them at Nagoya, Japan.
"This is the realisation of a dream. I have wanted to share this experience with the Irish public since I witnessed its magic presence at Expo Japan and maybe people will want a permanent display of these replicas in Dublin, as I do," he said.
Enthusiasts made reproductions in the 19th and 20th centuries of ancient objects to educate people about heritage and archaeology across Europe.
Of all the reproductions the most impressive are the plaster casts made of the Irish high crosses, copies of which were brought to England, America and Australia, according to the National Museum.
They portray some of the finest examples of Early Christian sculpture in Ireland, which range in date from the 9th to the 12th Centuries AD.
They include two crosses from Ahenny, Co Tipperary, two from Monasterboice, Co Louth and single crosses from Drumcliffe, Co Sligo and Dysart O'Dea, Co Clare.