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Lot 121

A Celtic red sandstone head

Antiquities
1 December 2020, 11:00 GMT
London, New Bond Street

Sold for £11,475 inc. premium

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A Celtic red sandstone head
Circa 1st-3rd Century A.D.
Possibly a deity, the oval face tapering to a narrow chin, the almond-shaped eyes set within shallow recessed eye sockets, the straight linear mouth slightly down-turned at the edges, with a narrow neck, 30.5cm high

Footnotes

Provenance:
Private collection, UK, acquired in the early 1980s from Rosebery's auction, London.
London art market.

According to early literary sources, the Celts of Northern Europe worshipped the human head as a repository of spiritual power and energy. Many heads such as the above lot have been found across northern England, particularly in the context of shrines associated with springs and in riverbeds.

Additional information

Bid now on these items

An Anatolian marble idol
A Mesopotamian clay cuneiform foundation cone with dedication inscription of King Lipit-Ishtar of Isin
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A Neo-Assyrian or Neo-Hittite bronze helmet with pelta-shaped cheek-pieces
A Babylonian agate "eye-stone" bead, inscribed for Nebuchadnezzar II
A large Etruscan Impasto Ware pottery olla
A Roman marble torso of a youth wearing a tunic
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A Greek bronze horse
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