A CELTIC GOLD TORQUE

CIRCA LATE 5TH-EARLY 4TH CENTURY B.C.

Details

A CELTIC GOLD TORQUE
CIRCA LATE 5TH-EARLY 4TH CENTURY B.C.
Formed from stout sheet, the back zone circular in section, expanding towards the front zone where it becomes a flattened oval in section, the zones offset by raised cushions, each end of the back zone with stylized scrolling palmettes, one portion of the back zone formed from a separate piece, designed to swivel on one end, open for insertion at the other, each side of the front zone ornamented with elaborate voluted scrolling, the spiraling volutes serving as the eyes of highly-stylized anthropomorphic faces, the central face with a carinated projection at the center formed from a paler gold, the scrolling and fronds enhanced by incision and hatching, the outer edge beaded
6 7/8 in. (17.4 cm.) long

Provenance

Art Market, Munich.
Private Collection, South Bavaria, prior to the early 1970s.

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Lot Essay

The scrolling and palmettes on this torque find their ultimate inspiration from the art of the Greeks and Etruscans. When modified by the Celts, these motifs become stylistically uniquely Celtic. For a torque with similar scrolling see the example from Waldalgesheim, Germany, p. 213 in Kruta, et al., The Celts.

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