Rethinking Celtic Art

by Duncan Garrow (Editor)

Overview

'Early Celtic art' - typified by the iconic shields, swords, torcs and chariot gear we can see in places such as the British Museum - has been studied in isolation from the rest of the evidence from the Iron Age. This book reintegrates the art with the archaeology, placing the finds in the context of our latest ideas about Iron Age and Romano-British society. The contributions move beyond the traditional concerns with artistic styles and continental links, to consider the material nature of objects, their social effects and their role in practices such as exchange and burial. The aesthetic impact of decorated metalwork, metal composition and manufacturing, dating and regional differences within Britain all receive coverage. The book gives us a new understanding of some of the most ornate and complex objects ever found in Britain, artefacts that condense and embody many histories.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781782978213
Publisher:	Oxbow Books
Publication date:	10/01/2008
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	224
File size:	28 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Duncan Garrow is a lecturer in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Reading. He specializes in European prehistory (with a particular focus on Britain) and archaeological theory.

Table of Contents

1 tIntroduction: re-integrating 'Celtic' Art (Chris Gosden J. D. Hill) 1

2 The time and space of Celtic Art: interrogating the 'Technologies of Enchantment' database (Duncan Garrow 15

3 A Celtic mystery: some thoughts on the genesis of insular Celtic art (Vincent and Ruth Megaw) 40

4 Seeing red: the aesthetics of martial objects in the British and Irish Iron Age (Melanie Giles) 59

5 Reflections on Celtic Art: a re-examination of mirror decoration (Jody Joy) 78

6 What can be inferred from the regional stylistic diversity of Iron Age Coinage? Ian Leins) 100

7 Technologies of the body: Iron Age and Roman grooming and display (Hella Eckardt) 113

8 Celtic Art in Roman Britain (Fraser Hunter) 129

9 Material, style and identity in first century AD metalwork, with particular reference to the Seven Sisters Hoard (Mary Davis Adam Gwilt) 146

10 On the aesthetics of the Ancient Britons (Mansel Spratling) 185

11 Comment I. Contextualising Iron Age art (Niall Sharples) 203

12 Comment II. The unmaking of Iron Age Identities: art after the Roman conquest (David Mattingly) 214

tColour Plates 219

Editorial Reviews

This project aims to take stock of the entire British corpus, reassess dates and consider arts context and role... The best papers are the commentaries by Niall Sharples and David Mattingly which put the art in context to give the reader a view of the big picture.'

British Archaeology - Mike Parker Pearson