World Timelines- Early Celtic or La Tene art

British Isles > England > South-east England 800 BC-AD 43 Iron Age

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Bronze shield Bronze shield Bronze shield Bronze shield

Bronze shield

Bronze shield	Bronze shield
Bronze shield	Bronze shield

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	350-50 BC From the River Thames at Battersea, London, England This ornately decorated shield, known as the Battersea Shield, is one of the most impressive examples of La Tène art known from Britain. It is only 77 centimetres long and would not have been useable in battle. This, along with the decoration and the fact that it was deposited in a river, suggests that the shield was a ceremonial object. 350-50 BC From the River Thames at Battersea, London, England This ornately decorated shield, known as the Battersea Shield, is one of the most impressive examples of La Tène art known from Britain. It is only 77 centimetres long and would not have been useable in battle. This, along with the decoration and the fact that it was deposited in a river, suggests that the shield was a ceremonial object. 350-50 BC From the River Thames at Battersea, London, England This ornately decorated shield, known as the Battersea Shield, is one of the most impressive examples of La Tène art known from Britain. It is only 77 centimetres long and would not have been useable in battle. This, along with the decoration and the fact that it was deposited in a river, suggests that the shield was a ceremonial object. 350-50 BC From the River Thames at Battersea, London, England This ornately decorated shield, known as the Battersea Shield, is one of the most impressive examples of La Tène art known from Britain. It is only 77 centimetres long and would not have been useable in battle. This, along with the decoration and the fact that it was deposited in a river, suggests that the shield was a ceremonial object.

	Length: 770 mm
	The British Museum PE PRB 1857,0715.1 British Museum: Bronze shield

The first coins

Early Celtic or La Tene art

Early contact with Rome

Iron Age burial

Iron Age clothing

Living in a hillfort

Currency bars

Local British coinage

	Early Celtic or La Tene art Early Celtic art is the popular name given to the styles of decoration which developed and flourished in Europe from around 500 BC-AD 100. It is more correctly called La Tène art, after the place in Switzerland where many objects with this style of decoration were found in the 19th century AD. La Tène art is mostly non-figurative; its designs and motifs are curvaceous abstract patterns inspired by formal motifs imported from Greece and Italy. Although birds’ faces or dragons can sometimes be seen within the designs, it rarely includes images of ‘real’ figures. The fact that the art is so abstract means that it is impossible for us to ‘read’ its meaning or narrative. Much of it is likely to be religious in nature, but what the symbols mean is now lost. Although in the European tradition, metalwork produced in the British Isles between 400 BC and AD 100 had its own distinctive style. The art is one of display in weaponry, personal ornaments and horse harness. Many of these beautifully crafted objects were placed into bogs, lakes and rivers, probably as part of a religious or ritual ceremony. Some of the finest examples of British La Tène art have been dredged from rivers in southern and eastern England. View this article in the Timeline Viewer (requires Flash Player 7)

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