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LOT 0347
Celtic Iceni Decorated Bronze Horn Cap
IRON AGE, 2ND CENTURY B.C.-EARLY 1ST CENTURY A.D.
1 3/4 - 3 in. (314 grams total, 45-75 mm).
Sceptre head or other fitting with biconvex flange, possibly a finial from the yoke of a chariot.
ProvenanceFound Colchester, Essex, UK, 1990s.
This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
Cf. Jope, E. M., Early Celtic Art, Oxford, 2000, pl.302-3, described as a vehicle pole and yoke fittings; Macdonald, P., Llyn Cerrig Bach. A Study of the Copper Alloy Artefacts from the Insular La Tène Assemblage, Cardiff, 2007, fig.23, item 49; cf. similar offered in Christie's, London, 12 December 1984, no.26A (£7,000-£10,000).
FootnotesTwenty or so 'horn caps' are known in museums and private collections, all have been found in Britain and mostly in Southern England. This type of decorative cap is from the end of a curved wooden handle which projected from the back of an Iron Age chariot, by which a warrior could pull himself back into the chariot. The chariot to which this would have been attached would have belonged to a chief or wealthy warrior from the Icenic tribe.
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AUCTIONS:
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Iron Age Celtic Bronze La Tene Fibula
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £85
With integral spring and pin, flat-section bow with raised median rib and edges, wide foot with catch and piercing. 8.78 grams, 68 mm
Acquired on the UK art market before 2000. Property of an Essex, UK, gentleman. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Celtic Bronze Statuette of a Duck
Iron Age, 1st century B.C.-1st century A.D.Sold for (Inc. bp): £780
Modelled in the round with splayed legs, scooped beak, T-shaped tail with serrated edge and loop to the back; mounted on a custom-made stand. 52 grams total, duck: 43 mm high
Ex Cambridge, UK, collection, 1990-2010. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato. -
Iron Age Celtic Bronze Proto-Ring Money Collection
Circa 3rd-1st century B.C.Sold for (Inc. bp): £20
A 'proto-money' or harness ring group comprising round-section rings, some with butt-joints, radiating lobes and other features. 25.9 grams total, 22-31 mm
From an English collection formed before 2000. This lot is accompanied by an illustrated lot declaration signed by the Head of the Antiquities Department, Dr Raffaele D'Amato.
From the 3rd to 2nd Century B.C. and even before, Celtic rings in bronze were often used as a medium of exchange, before the actual issue of coinage in the area. The first attestation of rings as proto-money came from the Celtic Moesia, before the Roman conquest.
