Celtic Art – Stylistic Development of Celtic Cultural Artifacts
“Celtic art” is a useful but debated label for several different bodies of material: Iron Age Hallstatt and La Tène objects in continental Europe and Britain, early medieval Insular manuscripts and metalwork, Pictish monuments, and later Celtic Revival design. These cultures were not one timeless people with a single style, and archaeology rarely reveals exactly which language an object’s maker spoke. The term works best when period, region, medium, and evidence are stated clearly.
What Is Celtic Artwork?
The most prominent perception of Celtic styles usually depicts Irish Celtic art or Gaelic art, but Celtic art history stems further back than this popular misconception in both time and location. What most of the English-speaking world imagines when they think of the term “Celtic Artwork” actually stems from the artwork of the early Middle Ages of Britain and Ireland, which is known as “Insular Art”.
Archaeologists sometimes connect “Celtic” with selected European Iron Age cultures, especially Hallstatt and La Tène, but material style, ethnicity, and language are not interchangeable. Art historians most securely use the label for La Tène ornament from roughly the fifth to first centuries BCE, then qualify later uses such as Romano-British, Pictish, Insular, or Revival.
Typically, the overarching themes of Celtic painting and Celtic sculptures are complex symbolism, ornamental geometric designs, and non-linear patterns.
The huge influences derived from interactions with countless previous cultures have resulted in the incorporation of stylistic elements from spirals to key patterns, knotwork, and zoomorphism. The common thread to be found throughout the expansive timeframe and geographical span is the development of a sense of balance in the layout of these patterns. Through the application of curvilinear forms, the use of both positive and negative space result in a harmonious whole.
Newgrange was built around 3200 BCE, millennia before the Iron Age cultures usually called Celtic. Its spiral ornament is an important prehistoric Irish precedent, but it should not be presented as proof of an unbroken Celtic style.
| Label | Approximate context | Useful distinction |
|---|---|---|
| Hallstatt | Central European Early Iron Age, c. 800–450 BCE | Archaeological culture; not every community can be assigned a Celtic language |
| La Tène | Later Iron Age, c. 450 BCE to Roman-era transitions | Curvilinear metalwork drawing on Mediterranean and local forms |
| Insular art | Britain and Ireland, mainly c. 600–900 CE | Christian manuscripts, metalwork, and sculpture shaped by several traditions |
| Pictish art | Northern and eastern Scotland, mainly 3rd–9th centuries CE | Distinct symbol stones and later cross-slabs |
| Celtic Revival | 19th–20th centuries | Modern reinvention tied to antiquarianism, nationalism, craft, and design |
History of Celtic Styles and Influences
The History of Celtic styles and influences can be separated into various eras. The Hallstatt era is considered to be at the root of Celtic Culture, the La Tène era is considered the prime period of Celtic artwork, and the Celtic Revival represents the more modern interpretation of Celtic art history.
Hallstatt Culture
Named after Hallstatt in Austria, this archaeological culture flourished across parts of central Europe roughly from 800 to 450 BCE. Its graves, settlements, weapons, vessels, vehicles, jewelry, and imported luxuries provide important context for La Tène art, but treating every Hallstatt community as ethnically or linguistically Celtic goes beyond the evidence.
Hallstatt decoration is generally more geometric than the later curvilinear La Tène vocabulary; “Celtic knotwork” belongs especially to much later Insular contexts.
Elite exchange connected central Europe with Greek, Etruscan, and other Mediterranean workshops. Imported vessels and local adaptations show selective borrowing rather than the birth of one isolated, uniform Celtic culture.
La Tène Culture
The La Tène period (broadly 5th to 1st centuries BC) is what can be considered the beginning of Celtic art, as far as historians are concerned. It is most easily recognized by its swirling curvilinear patterns. The movement has its origins in Switzerland and is named after the site near the village of La Tène, where Swiss archaeologists and geologists excavated artwork from its discovery in 1857 up until 1885.
Over 2500 objects were excavated at the site, most of which were made of metal and most of them military weapons, typical of the war-like environment of the era.
Burial practices varied by region and period; cremation did not simply end everywhere when La Tène art began. Inhumation graves, cremation deposits, settlements, rivers, hoards, and sanctuaries have all preserved evidence, while the survival of metal creates a strong bias in what modern viewers call Celtic art.
As well as metal, this era was known for artists that worked with gold, specifically for personal adornment such as jewelry. Most of the pieces that still exist today were made from iron, bronze, gold, and other metals. Ivies and foliage were common motifs within the scrollwork to be found on objects such as weapons, sculptures, and vessels like bowls.
This period was considered the “mature” Celtic period and, according to Paul Jacobsthal in his book “Early Celtic Work”, the La Tène movement can be classified as having four distinct stages: the Early style, the Waldalgesheim style, the Plastic style, and the Sword style.
The Early Style (c. 480-350 BCE)
This style is based on the historical excavations at various burial sites in Germany and France, most notably typified by gold collars and other ornate jewelry from Rodenbach and Reinheim. Subsequent unearthings included bronze containers from Kleinaspergle and Basse-Yutz, a large portion of which can be found to be decorated in the idiomatic La Tène-style curvilinear patterns. These patterns included the motifs of lotus flowers, acanthus leaves, and palmettes.
The Waldalgesheim Style (c. 350-290 BCE)
This sub-style derives from pieces of chariot and ornate jewelry found at the Waldalgesheim burial site in Bonn, Germany. It displays a unique combination of Celtic and Classical styles, reflected by growing confidence in the Celtic tradition.
The Plastic Style (290-190 BCE)
This style began to see an increase in the use of images containing animals and humans. It was also highly elaborate, more detailed, and decorative. The Plastic Style period displays a deeper concern for and awareness of three-dimensional effects in ornamental design work.
The Sword Style (190 BCE onwards)
This last style signifies a move away from the detailed and vibrant three-dimensional style figuration of the former Plastic period towards more linear abstraction, which is distinguished by geometric patterns derived from Hellenic floral motifs.
This period focuses on the eastern archeological discoveries of engraved ornamental weaponry.
Owing greatly to the exposure to the Graeco-Roman world, it has been suggested that the artifacts of the Celtic Habituation of the Mediterranean areas have resulted in a greater exhibition of the maturity of expression than their Central European counterparts.
Celtic Art in the Early Middle Ages
Roman expansion transformed many communities associated with La Tène material culture, but there was no single date when “all Celtic tribes” entered Roman administration. Rome conquered much of Gaul and Britain while Ireland remained outside the empire and northern Britain was never held permanently. Local styles continued and mixed with Roman forms.
The next centuries were not a simple cultural decline followed by an Irish revival. Regional metalwork, stone carving, language, and identity changed unevenly across Roman and non-Roman zones. Early medieval Insular art later combined Irish, Pictish, Anglo-Saxon, Mediterranean Christian, and other traditions.
After the Fall of Rome
Once the barbarian tribes that had resisted Roman occupation eventually succeeded, it led to the fall of the Roman empire in that region. As a result, Christianity began to flourish in Ireland, which directly led to a renaissance in Irish Celtic Art. This rebirth took on three distinct forms:
- A regeneration of Celtic metalwork,
- The production of gospel manuscripts, and
- The creation of free-standing stone monuments, including the high crosses of Ireland and Britain.
As can be deduced from the above, the most noticeable shift from the earlier pagan-influenced past of the Celtic tradition is that weaponry and pageantry were the prominent objects created. This new era saw a noticeable shift towards symbolism connected to religious worship and ornamentation. However, this did not deter artists who created Celtic sculpture and Celtic painting from using the spirals, zoomorphic figures, and knotwork associated with their pagan past.
The Picts (Scotland)
The Celtic influence was also to be found in Scotland, as on the west coast, there were shared territories of Irish cultural influences as well as the Anglo Saxon southern kingdom of Northumbria. It was during this period of Christianization that Pictish Art in Scotland began to be heavily influenced by the Insular style, most notably with interlace becoming a prominent feature in stones and metalwork.
Celtic Revival and Global Influence
Celtic Revival art was a style based on an archaic interest in ancient Celts’ art in Britain and Ireland. Mainly decorative stylistically, it first started to emerge in the 1840s and reached its apex in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During this invigorating revival period, the style exerted its influence on textiles and embroidery, metalwork, jewelry, wall decoration, wood inlay, and stone carving. This period saw many masters become highly respected on a global level. Two of these influential artists were Archibald Knox, who was a metalwork designer, and Scotsman Charles Rennie Mackintosh, who was a watercolor artist.
In the 1840s, there was a revival in the interest of Celtic brooch reproduction, which began initially in Dublin, but eventually spread to Edinburgh, London, and abroad.
This interest was largely due to the discovery of the Tara Brooch, which was displayed over the following decades in fashionable hot spots such as Paris and London. The most enduring aspect of the revival in this period was due to the 19th-century reintroduction of using Celtic crosses for monuments at memorials such as graves. This style has not been limited to only areas of Celtic cultural heritage but also spread outwards to neighboring populations.
In the 1900s, interlace remained popular in architecture and design, including in the United States. Ireland’s Arts and Crafts movement adopted it for modern cultural and political purposes. Interlace has ancient precedents across Eurasia and was developed by Insular, Germanic, Scandinavian, Mediterranean, and other makers; assigning it one national origin oversimplifies a mobile ornamental language.
Celtic revivals are periodic, with another Celtic revival surfacing once again in the 1980s, which has endured until this day. The 1990s saw a rise in the number of jewelers and craftsmen incorporating and celebrating the modern revival of a beautiful and ancient tradition.
Notable Celtic Art
Throughout Celtic art history, there have been numerous examples of Celtic sculptures and Celtic paintings that exemplify the most noticeable traits of ancient celts art. Let’s take a deeper look at a few well-known examples of Gaelic art and Celtic styles.
Book of Kells (c. 800)
The Book of Kells was written in Latin text in a Columban monastery, approximately around the time of 800 AD. It is a Gospel manuscript from the medieval period and it contains four Gospels found in the New Testament, as well as a collection of various other tables, illustrations, and texts.
The manuscript was kept for centuries at Kells in County Meath, which gave it its modern name. Its precise place or places of production remain debated; Iona and Kells are leading possibilities, and work may have continued across both communities after Viking attacks. The book is an Insular Gospel manuscript whose script and ornament connect Ireland and Britain with wider Christian book culture.
It displays all the hallmark characteristics associated with Celt and Christian styles such as Celtic knots interlaced with geometric designs, curvilinear patterns alongside mythical beasts, and stylized human figures.
Despite enduring years of use, transportation from one place to another, and the constant friction and rubbing from frequent use, the book remains in surprisingly good condition for its age. It is, however, incomplete, with around thirty folios lost to time. If you would like to see the Book of Kells, it is viewable in Dublin where it is displayed at Trinity College.
Muiredach’s High Cross (c. 923 CE)
Muiredach’s High Cross is a sandstone Christian crucifix, one of three standing crosses situated at Monasterboice, the remains of a secluded religious site in County Louth, Ireland. Collectively, they have been considered the best contribution to European sculpture to come from Ireland.
Muiredach’s High Cross is adorned with carvings of biblical figures and themes.
It is divided into panels, with each panel depicting various religious stories and figures associated with Christian mythology. Archeologists have identified 124 different figures, although not all the panels are biblical, but instead feature geometric shapes and interlaced patterns.
It has been suggested by concerned groups that it would be better to move the cross indoors to protect it from deteriorating further under the harsh conditions of the outdoors. Luckily up until now, the carvings have remained relatively well preserved, with many of the features such as weaponry and clothing of the figures still clearly recognizable today.
Staffordshire Moorlands Pan (2nd century AD)
The Staffordshire Moorlands pan was found in 2003 in Ilam parish, Staffordshire, by metal-detectorists, and two years later, in 2005, it was purchased collectively by the Tullie House Museum in Carlisle, the Potteries Museum in Stoke-on-Trent, and London’s British Museum. This pan originally had a flat handle, but today it has none, nor does it have a base. It is made of copper-alloy and has been enameled.
Bearing inscriptions referring to Hadrian’s Wall, it is believed to have originated sometime in the 2nd century AD.
Many people in the region consider it to contain much significance, not only locally but for many abroad too. Using blue, yellow, and red curvilinear ornamentation, the pan is decorated in a Celtic style. It also has a beaded rim and polychrome enamel inlay. The Staffordshire Moorlands pan is round and features a raised foot-ring. Based on observations regarding the inscriptions decorated around the pan, it has been suggested that the pan served a decorative yet functional role, most likely for someone stationed at Hadrian’s Wall.
The Tara Brooch (c. 710-750 AD)
The Tara Brooch is a pseudo-penannular Celtic brooch, estimated to have been made somewhere between 710 to 750 AD. According to the National Museum of Ireland, the Tara Brooch in many aspects represents the apex of what could be achieved by the craftsmen of the time.
Found near Bettystown in County Meath in 1850, the brooch has no archaeological connection to Tara. A dealer promoted the prestigious “Tara” name to increase its appeal and market reproductions.
The brooch was exhibited internationally in places such as London and Paris, which helped fuel its legacy as one of the artifacts responsible for the mid-19th century Celtic revival. Its current location is the National Museum of Ireland in Dublin, where it is displayed for the public to view.
The Battersea Shield (c. 350-50 BC)
The Battersea Shield was dredged up from the bed of the River Thames in 1857. Since then, many groups have tried to date the piece, considered to be one of the most significant pieces of ancient Celtic art found in Britain. The shield is currently housed at the British Museum, having been dated to circa 350 to 50 BC. However, dates as late as the early first century AD have also been suggested, and most tend to favor the later date range as the most likely potential time frame.
During the same excavation, workers brought large quantities of Roman and Celtic weapons from the muddy depths of the riverbed. This led many to speculate that this was the possible site of Julius Caesar’s invasion of Britain in 54 BC, although most agree that the shield predates the invasion and was most likely a votive offering.
The Desborough Mirror (c. 50 BC-50 AD)
This bronze mirror has been considered one of the finest examples of La Tène or Celtic art from Britain. To produce a reflective surface, the plate was highly polished on one side, and the backplate was engraved with a complex design. In a period where one’s reflection could normally only be observed in water, this would have been considered both a wonder and a novelty. Highly decorated mirrors of this type are uniquely British, and very few are found on the continent of Europe and elsewhere. The majority that of decorative mirrors that been uncovered are from graves dating between 100 BC and 100 AD.
Notable Celtic Revival Artists
Celtic art history has left us a treasure chest of artworks made by Celtic painters that date back centuries. There have been several revivals up to the modern age, both in Ireland and abroad. Not only has there been a resurgence in Irish Celtic art in the UK itself, but Celtic styles have influenced artists even in countries like America.
John Duncan (1866 – 1945)
Originally hailing from Scotland, the painter John Duncan was a noteworthy Celtic Revival artist who worked with an assortment of mediums, including stained glass. He was born in Hilltown, Dundee on 19 July 1866, as the son of a cattleman and butcher. However, John had a passion for the visual arts and had no desire to follow in the footsteps of his parents and join the family business.
At the young age of fifteen, he was already submitting cartoons to “The Wizard of the North” (a local magazine) and later worked his way to assistant in the art department of the Dundee Advertiser. He studied at the Dundee School of Art and by 1888, was working as a commercial illustrator in London. He then moved to Europe to study at Antwerp Academy under Charles Verlat as well as at the Düsseldorf Art Academy.
Duncan is most well-remembered for his pieces The Glaive of Light (1897), Hymn to the Rose (1907), Riders of the Sidhe (1911), and Tristan and Isolde (1912), and has created multiple Celtic and symbolist artworks that have been exhibited at the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Glasgow Institute.
Thomas Augustin “Gus” O’Shaughnessy (1870 – 1956)
Thomas Augustin O’Shaughnessy was an American Irish Celtic Art Revival designer, known for creating stained glass designs inspired by Celtic art. Much of his work helped him gain respect all over the globe thanks to his excellent Celtic Revival designs.
Before going back to Europe where he would perfect his art and continue learning new techniques, Thomas was at the Art Institute of Chicago. This is where he studied under the guidance of Louis Millet, who is a master stained-glass artist. He was also a member of the Chisel Academy of Fine Art, as well as the group known as the Chicago’s Palette. Thomas Augustin O’Shaughnessy also made stenciling for the interior of the Old Saint Patrick’s Church in Chicago and helped in designing and installing the church’s stained glass windows between the years 1912 and 1922.
Thomas Augustin O’Shaughnessy drew huge inspiration directly from the Book of Kells, and after having recently been restored to his vision in 1996, his artwork continues to challenge conventional notions of Irish identity and sacred space even from the far-flung shores of America. Two classic examples of his stained glass work can both be found at Old Saint Patrick’s Church in Chicago, being O’Shaughnessy’s depiction of ‘St. Brigid’ as well as the “Great Faith Window”.
We have now learned that Celtic art history has roots deep in ancient European culture and not just in Ireland, as one might have originally thought. We have covered the early influences, the prime era, the fall, and the revival of this style in modern times. It was through these revivals that craftsmen continued to be inspired by ancient art, even up until this very day.
Take a look at our Celtic artwork webstory here!
Frequently Asked Questions
In Which Period Did Celtic Art Originate?
The answer depends on terminology. Hallstatt culture provides Early Iron Age context, but the curvilinear visual language most securely called early Celtic art developed with La Tène culture from about the mid-fifth century BCE. Bronze Age objects such as Newgrange predate that framework and should not automatically be labeled Celtic.
Does Celtic Art Still Exist?
Yes, but contemporary “Celtic art” usually means continuation, revival, or reinvention rather than unchanged survival from the Iron Age. Artists and craftspeople still use interlace, spirals, manuscripts, metalwork, and cross forms in Ireland, Britain, North America, and elsewhere, often in dialogue with modern identity and tourism.
What Is the Difference Between Celtic and Insular Art?
Celtic art often refers broadly to Iron Age La Tène work and to later traditions associated with Celtic-speaking regions. Insular art is the more precise term for early medieval art made in Britain and Ireland, especially manuscripts, metalwork, and sculpture that combine Irish, Pictish, Anglo-Saxon, Mediterranean Christian, and other influences.
Was the Tara Brooch Found at Tara?
No. It was found near Bettystown on the County Meath coast in 1850. A dealer attached the prestigious Tara name to the brooch to enhance its appeal. The eighth-century object is now in the National Museum of Ireland and is a masterpiece of early medieval Irish metalwork.
Isabella studied at the University of Cape Town in South Africa and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in English Literature & Language and Psychology. Throughout her undergraduate years, she took Art History as an additional subject and absolutely loved it. Building on from her art history knowledge that began in high school, art has always been a particular area of fascination for her. From learning about artworks previously unknown to her, or sharpening her existing understanding of specific works, the ability to continue learning within this interesting sphere excites her greatly.
Her focal points of interest in art history encompass profiling specific artists and art movements, as it is these areas where she is able to really dig deep into the rich narrative of the art world. Additionally, she particularly enjoys exploring the different artistic styles of the 20th century, as well as the important impact that female artists have had on the development of art history.
Learn more about Isabella Meyer and the Art in Context Team.
Cite this Article
Isabella, Meyer, “Celtic Art – Stylistic Development of Celtic Cultural Artifacts.” Art in Context. August 13, 2021. URL: https://artincontext.org/celtic-art/
Meyer, I. (2021, 13 August). Celtic Art – Stylistic Development of Celtic Cultural Artifacts. Art in Context. https://artincontext.org/celtic-art/
Meyer, Isabella. “Celtic Art – Stylistic Development of Celtic Cultural Artifacts.” Art in Context, August 13, 2021. https://artincontext.org/celtic-art/.
