Romano-Celtic female head, 1st century BC-1st century AD
Sandstone
Height: 16.5cm
10831 EL
Charles Ede, London
€ 12,000
The head is well carved in a coarse sandstone, the features simplified and stylised. She has thick rows of hair over the top and sides of her head, the back...
The head is well carved in a coarse sandstone, the features simplified and stylised. She has thick rows of hair over the top and sides of her head, the back relatively smooth. Her lips are thin, her chin prominent, her nose long and slender, her eyes with delicate brow bones. Intact, roughly broken at the neck, the surface with some wear and chipping.
This head marks the transition between Celtic and Roman sculpture in Britain. It is still very much by the craftsmen of the former, but the influence of the latter is evident stylistically. Though Caesar first entered Britain in 55 BC and took home several hostages, it wasn't until 43 AD, under the rule of Claudius, that a full scale attack was launched on the island, and huge swathes of the country were subjugated to Roman rule.
This head marks the transition between Celtic and Roman sculpture in Britain. It is still very much by the craftsmen of the former, but the influence of the latter is evident stylistically. Though Caesar first entered Britain in 55 BC and took home several hostages, it wasn't until 43 AD, under the rule of Claudius, that a full scale attack was launched on the island, and huge swathes of the country were subjugated to Roman rule.
Provenance
Found in a field near Gibson, Leicestershire, UK in the 1970s; accompanied by a British Export LicencePrivate collection, Ireland
