Michelle Armstrong

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ART OF THE CELTS:
Treasures of an Ancient Civilization
III IV
Treasures of an ancient civilization
Michelle Armstrong
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ART OF THE CELTS ART OF THE CELTS
Whats in a Name?
The various names the Celts were known by were used by Greek
and Latin writers to mean: the barbarians of Transalpine Europe who
lived near the mouth of the Danube and inland from Massalia. They were
people who had invaded the Balkans and attacked Dephi in 280/279 BC,
who had served as mercenaries under numerous tyrants and dynasties
from Dionsysus of Syracuse to the Attalids of Pergamum, who had settled
in the heart of Anatolia. They were people who had been defeated several
times by Rome and who were listed as defeated in the Fasti Triumphales
and in the inscriptions on various commemorative monuments.
The Celts were sustained by a warrior ideology and were
malleable and open-minded toward the customs of important peoples.
Their mobility brought about the transmission of ideologies and
concepts through acculturization processes and the infuence they
exercised over autochthonous groups. The processes of interaction,
lasting thousands of years, between Celtic-speaking peoples and the
others brought about the cultural diversifcation of the Celtic peoples.
The Celts and the Arts of the Ancient World
The Greeks had little respect for people who had to engage in
manual labor. The general opinion was that monotonous and incessant
work wore out the body and prevented participation in public life, which
in turn would lead to social dependence on others. Specialized skilled
workers and craftsmen who worked with precious materials, however,
were highly regarded and gained a considerable amount of prestige from it.
Crafts were held in high esteem in the northern Celtic areas. A
grave at LA Somme-Tourbe in France contained the remains of a man
whose weapons, drinking vessel and gold jewelry were among the richest
grave goods found anywhere in the Champagne region. At his feet, besides
his bronze helmet, a set of iron tools consisting of a hammer, drill, fles,
punches and tweezers or small pincers were deposited. While this man
belonged to the Celtic upper class, he did not shy away from using tools.
The high quality of Celtic artisanship is best of all
illustrated by its products. The Celts used a variety of materials
consisting of bronze, iron, gold and silver. In addition to
ornamentation and jewelry, they also made pottery and textiles.
Style and Taste
We can only form partial and hypothetical opinions of the aesthetics
of Celtan artisans and their employers. Too many artifacts made of
perishable materials such as wood and textiles are lost to us. Evidence of
the use of color, which obviously has a strong effect on the appearance
of an artifact, is also in short supply. However, particular attention was
paid to weaponry in the Celtic age. Helmets were the showpieces of a
warriors equipment. Those found often include sockets for projecting
elements of some kind, which, however, have not been preserved.
Shields were colorfully painted and decorated with animal depictions.
Iron and Bronze
with gold leaf
and coral, diam.
22 cm, Agris,
Charente,
France,
Angouleme,
Musee
Municipal
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ART OF THE CELTS ART OF THE CELTS
A Love of Geometry
Over the course of the eighth century BC a particular and unique
style of decorating pottery was developed in southern Germany. Almost
all fnds of this pottery to date have come from burials and therefore
many have survived. This pottery was explicitly intended for status and
prestige purposes; hand-built and decorated from top to bottom, these
vessels were masterpieces. Archaeologists call it Alb-Hegau pottery.
The surface of the pottery was painted in red and graphite; the
patterns were stamped or cut into the pottery with a fne blade and then
encrusted with white line. The designs of the ornament consisted of
bands of varying width flled with geometric patterning. The step in the
This characterization applies not only to objects made of less valuable
materials but also works of gold. During the same period, artifacts
from the south were imported constantly, bringing new motifs into
the region that originated from a world of images totally alien to the
indigenous tradition. Realistic depictions of humans and animals
including unknown species such as lions found their way across the Alps.
Faces, Chimeras, and Ornamentation
Masks and grotesque faces would form one of the characteristic
elements of the Early style. They adorned vessels, jewelry, fttings,
things for everyday use and even works in stone. They were often
crowned with forcefully animated pairs of leaves; a characteristic piece
of jewelry was a necklace denoted with distinguished and elevated
fgures. There were an immense variety of fgural brooches, which
were invariably individual pieces and were probably worn as cloak
fasteners for display and to attract attention. Human and animal forms
represented are sometimes anatomically correct and can be clearly
identifed; but there are also fantastical chimeras in the most whimsical
designs and arrangements, far removed from any kind of naturalism.
decoration process was a line
drawing that roughly planned
out the available surface. The
elements of the decoration
consisted of grids and panels:
the grid system ensured that
the repeat pattern worked out
in the end. Finer divisions
were then applied and flled
in by stamping, incising,
painting and encrusting.
Certain rules were
followed in the making
of the best-quality pieces:
panels with the same
patterns were never placed
beside each other; patterns
remained unchanged within the individual panels; panels with patterns
impressed into or cut out of the ceramic were always left unpainted.
Rectangular patterns were ubiquitous and usually applied
to fat surfaces. Only rarely were these patterns used on concave
surfaces, where their effect was greatly diminished. There was a
general reluctance to use curvilinear ornamentation. Repetition of
motifs to form continuous repeat patterns is carried on ad infnitum;
this routine of pattern repeating appears to have ousted any creativity.
All-Hegau pottery from the 8th and 7th century
BC. Hand-built and decorated with several
diferent colors. From Wurttemberg.
Lef: Spouted fagon from the Waldagesheim Tomb, decorated in the Early style
Right: Figural brooches illustrate the unique Celtic spirit. Humanoid masks, animal heads
and full length fgures. From the Glauberg, Hessen.
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A motif that runs as a central theme through all periods
of Celtic art is that of animals affronted or sometimes addorsed,
most of them fantastical beasts rather than zoological creatures.
In contrast, human representations in which anatomy is depicted
more or less accurately is found almost only in stone sculpture.
The Waldalgesheim Style
Celtic ornament reached full maturity in its second phase, the
so-called Waldalgesheim style, which was practiced for the duration of
the fourth century BC. As fgural brooches were no longer in vogue,
masks and faces now occurred less frequently; they were, however,
incorporated in a playful manner in rich vegetal foliage. Two motifs, the
tendril and the lyre, dominated the repertoire of the Waldalgesheim style.
While Greek tendrils fow naturally in gentle forward motion in one
direction only, Celtic wave-tendrils were abstract from the beginning and
unruly in their pattern of motion: a counter movement, which created
an unsettling impression, disrupted each forward-moving wave or arc.
The Greek lyre motif, consisting of a double S-fgure with
an incorporated palmette was transformed in Celtic art into a dense
weave peppering even the smallest empty space with a doted pattern.
All the basic elements of the Waldalgesheim style may have found
their inspiration in Greek pottery; however, it was a case of simple
copying. The original motifs were distorted to an extent never before
Enamelled horse-trappings 8 cm high from a hoard found in a cauldron at
Santon, Norfolk, mid-frst century A.D. Linked s-curves and commas.
seencut into pieces, turned and twisted, reconstituted with added zest.
The Waldalgesheim style at its purest is free with fowing tendrils
that threaten to break out in every direction. Such a design was held captive
in a leaf or lobe shaped feld. However, the decoration was not always as
lavish as this. For innumerable pieces of jewelrytorques, arm rings and
broochesas for ceramics for everyday use and for weaponsscabbards
and lanceheadssimpler decorative schemes were quite adequate.
The Late Celtic Styles
The Late styles continued what had begun with the
Waldalgesheim style. In this, two general directions emerged, which
archaeologists categorize as the Plastic style and the Sword style.
The Plastic style held on to the traditional basic components
almost unchanged, but accentuated them even further. The style is
found most frequently on arm and ankle rings or on torques made of
bronze or gold. Tendrils and scrolls, previously two-dimensional now
protrude markedly and become three-dimensional. Entire compositions,
hitherto drawn on the surface, were now mounted on to the body
of the ring as a three-dimensional decoration, which gives the object
a baroque air and to modern taste appears somewhat overloaded.
1, Engraved decoration of the Bescancon bronze fagon. 2, design on unprovenanced
bronze fagon in British Museum. 1 adapted from Jacobsthal and Langsdorf (1929), 2
adapted from Frey (1955)
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Art in Transition
While Celtic arts and crafts on the Continent began to decline
in the frst century BC, it was at this time that they reached their heyday
in southern England. This is illustrated by the heavy previous metal
torques usually found accumulated in hoards. On such works, spiral coils
and relief foliage were combined to form an irregular weave across the
otherwise smooth surfaces. In addition, the backs of the bronze mirrors
were designed with equal virtuosity but with greater graphic emphasis.
They were clearly showpieces, and it was probably more important
for the owner to impress other people than to see her own image. The
engraved and typically symmetrical decoration was usually based on a
highly complicated compass-drawn construction. The fne lines were
rarely drawn by hand. The motifs outlined by the circular arcs stood
out most clearly in cases where smooth and matted areas alternated.
With regard to pottery production, the introduction of the potters
wheel in the ffth century had already created the preconditions for the
rapid manufacture of high-quality ceramic wares. The thin-walled fne
ware was usually painted in simple horizontal bands, which ran around
the body of the vessel. The colors consisted of various layers of fne-
textured slip. Shades of light brown and red on a background of white
Lef: Viking-derived
ornament. 1100. Shrine of
St. Patricks Bell.
Right: Brown terracotta
case, 25 cm, with a curved
body. Found in a chariot
tomb in Somme Bionne.
5th century BC.
Next to the careened vase
with a small foot, 18 cm.
Decorated with geometic
motif. Found in Marson
Necropolis. 5th century.
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ART OF THE CELTS ART OF THE CELTS
were predominant. Groups of
lines and curvilinear motifs
were applied horizontally,
vertically or diagonally in a
quick and easy process while
the potters wheel was rotating.
An individual and
unique style of painting
developed in central France.
Its chief motif were elegant
four-legged animals taking up
postures completely devoid
of any anatomical reality
and exhibiting extravagant
headgear and tails. Brush
strokes were applied with
confdence and skill. In some
cases the fabulous creatures
were embedded in a fantastical
weave of foliage with stems,
leaves, and petals entirely
fling all the empty spaces.
The Celts also
developed their own
unique imagery when it
came to the striking of
Te Auvergne area developed its own style of
painting. Te mythical creature, painted in
white is placed against a dark background.
Bronze with glass
inlay, height 84.5 cm,
London (Battersea),
England
London, the Birtish
Museum
coins. The Celts earliest encounters with money probably came
about through mercenary services. The engravers composed their
designs with extreme precision and displayed impressive powers
of abstraction when ftting the images into the small roundels of
the coins, which had contours that could often be quite irregular.
Approximately from the sixth century AD onwards the last
chapters of the history of Celtic art were written exclusively in Ireland.
Typical products were penannular brooches, or large pins for fastening
clothes, which must have had a display rather than a practical function.
On the Tara brooch every single area on the brooch exhibits decoration:
on the front, on the back, on the exterior and the interior rims. The
decoration on the back consists of Celtic motifs, while the front shows
interlaced animals and birds infuenced by the so-called Animal style.
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ART OF THE CELTS ART OF THE CELTS
Conclusion
The art of the Celts is the earliest artistic expression in northern
Europe that lead to the formation of geographically and chronologically
diverse styles. Celtic art developed along the same time as Greek art, yet
Celtic art is characterized by fundamentally dissimilar qualities. Greek
art is represented by its sculpture, whereas ornamentation played the
most important role in Celtic art. Foreign imports infuenced local artistic
creations: Celtic art, unlike Greek art, never strived to depict nature and the
world realistically. Plants, humans and animals were dissected into their
individual components and reconstituted, altered and abstracted, distorted
and disguised. Celtic ornamentation developed from simple to highly
complex structures. It was elitist, and thus has received little appreciation.
Bibliography
Photo Credits
Te Tara brooch was one of the fnal highpoints of Celtic crafsmenship. It consists of gilt
silver and with its amber and glass inlays was probably part of regal insignia.
Harding, D.W. Te Archaeology of Celtic Art. New York, New York:
Routledge, 2007. Print.
Laing, Lloyd and Jennifer. Art of the Celts. New York, New York:
Tames and Hudson Inc., 1992. Print.
Muller, Felix. Art of the Celts: 700 BC to AD 700. Ithaca, New York:
Cornell University Press, 2009. Print.
Vitali, Daniele. Te Celts: History and Treasures of an Ancient Civiliza-
tion. Vercelli, Italy: White Star Publishers, 2007. Print.
Cover and Back:
Bronze mirror, 3.5 cm from Desborough, Northamptonshire.
Title Pages:
Te Book of Durrow. Photo: Te Board of Trinity College, Dublin.
Te Electrum tore from Snettisham Hoard E, copyright the Trustees of
the Bristish Museum.
Gold coins from 30-10
BC and 1st century AD.
British Museum, London.
USD $12.95
ISBN 0-879-2801-2312-7
www.brownpublishing.com
Distributed in North America by
Brown Publishing Company
Celtic art was the earliest
signifcant contribution of
the north to the history of
European art. Its magic lay
in its complexity.