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Celts: Art and Identity
The real and imagined legacy of the ancient Celts has shaped modern identities across the British Isles and retains a powerful hold over the popular imagination. Furthermore, Celtic art is one of Europe's great artistic traditions, with the skills of Celtic craftspeople standing alongside the best of the ancient and medieval worlds.
But who were the Celts? Recent research and new archaeological discoveries are continuing to transform our understanding of the idea of the Celts - a subject involving much controversy and academic debate since the late 1990s. Drawing on the latest scholarship, the authors explore how the Celts have been defined differently from ancient times to the modern day, by people with different perspectives and agendas. They look, too, at what is meant by Celtic art, from its origins c.500 BC in western Europe, through its transformations and revivals in the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods, to its rediscovery in Britain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Over 250 remarkable objects have been selected from the collections of the British Museum, the National Museums of Scotland and other key European museums to richly illustrate the narrative and highlight the artistic accomplishments of craftspeople through the centuries. Here are iconic, intricately decorated masterpieces as well as less well-known fixtures and fittings; items of warfare and adornment; the ceremonial and the utilitarian.
But who were the Celts? Recent research and new archaeological discoveries are continuing to transform our understanding of the idea of the Celts - a subject involving much controversy and academic debate since the late 1990s. Drawing on the latest scholarship, the authors explore how the Celts have been defined differently from ancient times to the modern day, by people with different perspectives and agendas. They look, too, at what is meant by Celtic art, from its origins c.500 BC in western Europe, through its transformations and revivals in the Roman, Anglo-Saxon and medieval periods, to its rediscovery in Britain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Over 250 remarkable objects have been selected from the collections of the British Museum, the National Museums of Scotland and other key European museums to richly illustrate the narrative and highlight the artistic accomplishments of craftspeople through the centuries. Here are iconic, intricately decorated masterpieces as well as less well-known fixtures and fittings; items of warfare and adornment; the ceremonial and the utilitarian.
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 21, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 9, 2016
My kind of book! Lots of great photos of wonderful objects, of various sorts including Celtic Revival, with extensive, well-documented text exploring the meanings of Celtic arts and design and how they changed over time. Seeing the objects in person in the exhibit in London would have been nice, but this book is not a bad replacement for those of us who couldn't get to see them.
May 21, 2021
DNF
This book was one of my prescribed reading for my European Pre-History Archaeology class. I mainly focused on Chapter 2: Approaching Celtic Arts. I love how visual this book is. I fount to very inserting how there was a movement of intense realism and how even in our 21st century world we lift this same quality up as ‘good art’.
I liked how the book goes into detail about the providence of artefacts.
This book was one of my prescribed reading for my European Pre-History Archaeology class. I mainly focused on Chapter 2: Approaching Celtic Arts. I love how visual this book is. I fount to very inserting how there was a movement of intense realism and how even in our 21st century world we lift this same quality up as ‘good art’.
I liked how the book goes into detail about the providence of artefacts.
September 12, 2025
Absolutely beautiful and informative book. One of the best I've read all year.
The images are gorgeous and the history of 'Celtic Art' was so fascinating.
I particularly enjoyed the final chapters about illuminated manuscripts and any objects that may have had a magical intention behind them.
The images are gorgeous and the history of 'Celtic Art' was so fascinating.
I particularly enjoyed the final chapters about illuminated manuscripts and any objects that may have had a magical intention behind them.
November 18, 2016
Review will be coming in the next issue of Air n-Aithesc.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews