The Mystery of Ancient Celts: Prosperity and Elaborate Artistry

The Mystery of Ancient Celts: Prosperity and Elaborate Artistry

By Mr Ghaz, February 4, 2011

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The Mystery of Ancient Celts: Prosperity and Elaborate Artistry

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Archaeological discoveries of aristocratic adornments present the Celts as a people who made no secret of their wealth. Princely toms filled with magnificent jewelry and lavishly decorated ceremonial artifacts abound in all corners of the Celtic world, but especially in the Rhineland and Switzerland.

It is believed that affluent Celtic chieftains commissioned engravers who would produce pieces of ornamented metalware to their precise specifications. Gold and silver-gilt pieces-ranging from cauldrons to brooches, bracelets, and torcs (neck-rings)-display all the principles of stylized, spiral, and curvilinear decoration, as well as patterns and forms taken from nature: left shapes, flower designs, and birds and beasts adorn every surface.

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Gold and silver also had a practical use, however: taking a lead from the Greeks and Romans, the Celts minted their own coins. Initially based on classical designs, they soon displayed the unmistakable motifs of Celtic decoration. For example, the horses and chariot of Apollo, an image used on the reverse of some Greek coins gave way to Celtic horse imagery. The obverse (“heads”) sides of Celtic coins largely show warrior-aristocratic faces with stiff, lime-washed hairstyles, although some do seem to imitate Roman styles: coins minted in Britain in about 10BCE by Cunobelinos, ruler of the Catuvellauni tribe, Romanize the Celtic leader’s features and bear a Latinized form of his name.

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