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Details
LOT 0363
Iron Age Celtic Sandstone Head
2ND CENTURY B.C.-1ST CENTURY A.D.
14 1/2 in. (10.65 kg total, 37 cm including stand).
Irregular D-shaped head with reserved 'cap', almond-shaped eyes and slit mouth; pierced vertically from the D-shaped socket at the chin to the top of the head; possibly part of a furnace vent; mounted on a custom-made display stand. [No Reserve]
Provenance
From a collection acquired on the UK art market from various auction houses and collections mostly before 2000.
From an important Cambridgeshire estate; thence by descent.
Literature
Cf. Jackson, S., Celtic and Other Stone Heads, Shipley, 1973, item 56, for type.
Footnotes
The cult of the human head was prevalent in the Celtic world, being associated with warding-off evil spirits and bearing of good luck.
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