Celtic Art (Introductory Guides)

The Celtic-speaking Britons who inhabited England, Wales and part of Scotland in the 500 years BC left no written history. However, archaeology continues to reveal their artistic achievements. Jewellery, weapons, armour and the metal fittings of chariots and harness are magnificently decorated with fascinating and powerful designs. This introduction to the various forms of abstract decoration used by the Celts, asks whether their distinctive designs had a symbolic meaning now lost, or whether they were simple adornment. It examines the craftsmen's techniques, then follows the development of certain patterns and finally describes a number of surviving masterpieces, such as the Battersea shield and the Aylesford bucket.