A Little-Known Celtic Stone HeadAuthor(s): Stephen FliegelSource: The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, Vol. 77, No. 3 (Mar., 1990), pp. 82-103Published by: Cleveland Museum of ArtStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25160110Accessed: 29/09/2009 05:48

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Volume 77, Number 3 A Little-Known Celtic Stone Head

82 Front Cover: Detail of Figure 1, Celtic Head (CMA 55.555).

Back Cover: Box in the Form of a

Composite Capital (CMA 87.127). See page 104, Figure 1.

The Bulletin of The Cleveland Museum of

Art (ISSN 0009-8841, usPS 075-960), Volume 77, Number 3, March 1990.

Published monthly, except June and August, by The Cleveland Museum of Art.

Subscriptions: $25.00 per year. Single copies: $2.50. Copyright 1990 by The Cleveland Museum of Art. Postmaster

send address changes to CMA Bulletin, 11150 East Boulevard, Cleveland, Ohio

44106-1 797. Second-class postage paid at

Cleveland, Ohio. Editor, Jo Zuppan. Production Manager, Emily S. Rosen. Photographer, Nicholas Hlobeczy. Designer, Thomas Barnard.

And there were many Dark springs running there, and grim-faced figures of gods Uncouthly hewn by axe from the untrimmed tree-trunk, Rotted to whiteness.

Lucan, Pharsalia III (1 st century BC)

In the year 55 BC a Roman expeditionary force led by Julius Caesar landed on the south coast of England. This initial attempt and another the following year toward subjugating these ancient Britons failed. The spectacle that Caesar encountered apparently left its

mark, however, for the Romans abandoned Britain for another century, returning only in AD 43.

In his accounts, Julius Caesar portrayed a terrifying, warrior-class society predicated upon bravado and military prowess: "All the Britons dye their bodies with Woad (the juice of the isatis) which produces a blue color and gives them a wild appearance in battle. They wear their hair long; every other part of the body, except for the upper lip, they shave."1 That the British Celts who occupied these islands were related to those on the Continent was taken for

granted by Caesar.2 Indeed, the ancient Britons shared many of the same religious beliefs, rituals, art forms, and military tactics as the Celtic-speaking peoples of the Continent. Caesar noted the use of battle chariots, for instance, in which "they swarm round enemy lines, hurl their missiles and, with the terror aroused by their horses and the clatter of the wheels, cause confusion in the ranks; they push forward between their own cavalry squadrons and jump down from the chariot to carry on fighting on foot."3 The Roman landing forces

were notably impressed by such tactics. Who these ancient British peoples were is not fully understood.

They left no written legacy, only the observations of classical authors who encountered them or knew of them. There is also the archaeo

logical evidence, meager though it is-consisting of excavated barrows and hill forts, burial finds, and cult shrines-as well as lin

guistic and place-name evidence. What is suggested is that Britain was settled by Celtic-speaking Indo-European tribes sometime between 2000 and 1200 BC.4 At the turn of the millenium, therefore, the Celts, whether on the European continent or the British Isles,

were linked culturally and linguistically rather than ethnically. In AD 43 Rome again invaded Britain, this time on the orders of

Emperor Claudius. Yet the fearsomeness of the British Celts contin ued to impress the invaders some twenty years beyond. The Roman historian Tacitus records in his Annals the efforts of Gaius Suetonius Palinus, Imperial Governor of Britain, to pacify the Island of Mona

(Anglesey) during the period AD 57-61.

Figure 1. Celtic Head (of a God?). Arkosic sandstone with traces of original red paint, H. 33 cm. England (northern?), Romano-British, 2nd-3rd century AD. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jacob Hirsch. CMA 55.555

Flat-bottomed boats were built to contend with the shifting shal lows, and these took the infantry across.... The enemy lined the shore in a dense armed mass. Among them were black-robed women with dishevelled hair like Furies, brandishing torches. Close by stood Druids, raising their hands to heaven and screaming dread ful curses. This weird spectacle awed the Roman soldiers into a sort of paralysis. They stood still-and presented themselves as a target.

The Roman forces apparently overcame their inertia and prevailed:

Suetonius garrisoned the conquered island. The groves devoted to Mona's barbarous superstitions he demolished. For it was their religion to drench their altars in the blood of prisoners and consult their gods by means of human entrails.6

The Claudian invasion thus commenced a Roman presence in Britain which endured for nearly four centuries. It is against this cultural milieu, a diffusion of Roman classicism and insular Celtic impulses, that an enigmatic stone head now in The Cleveland Museum of Art

must be considered.7 Minimally carved, the head is nonetheless imposing for its sim

plicity and uniqueness as well as its ethereal stare (Figures 1-4). Acquired by the Museum as a gift in 1955, this stone head has since borne a Celtic ascription due in part to its schematized configura tion, specific characteristics, and lack of classical naturalism. The head is a composition complete in itself having never been affixed to

83

84 Figure 2. Celtic Head (CMA 55.555).

a torso. This is demonstrated by the excessive length and bulk of the neck as well as its slightly beveled terminus (Figure 3) which seems to suggest that the head was inset into the masonry of a larger design. Indeed, this may be taken as further evidence of the sculp ture's Celtic origins. This point, however, will be returned to later. The head is chiseled from a block of fine-grained sandstone with uneven and quite distinctive surface coloration ranging from a

predominating gray to yellow to deep reddish brown at the proper right front. A natural veining of red iron stain follows a diagonal pattern across the face, and distinct fossil shell impressions may be detected on the top and back of the head. Some thirteen inches in

Figure 3. Celtic Head (CMA 55.555).

Figure 4. Top (crown) of Celtic Head (CMA 55.555).

height, the head is slightly larger than life-size, but lacks overall

proportion. The face is concave (Figure 3) and the features flat and

expressionless: almond-shaped or lentoid eyes with no attempt to

suggest pupils or eyebrows; a long triangular nose with slightly drilled depressions to indicate nostrils; and a simple slit mouth. The features appear closely grouped together without definition of cheek bones or the slightest hint of movement. On the top of the head, which is relatively flat, may be found an incised groove forming a

roughly triangular shape (Figure 4). Though it does not form an actual depression or basin, the triangular shape does invite compari son with the hollowed cavities discovered on the crowns of a number of extant Celtic stone heads (see, for instance, Figure 13) apparently intended to hold offerings or libations. All of these characteristics find parallel in traditional Celtic physiognomy as do

additionally the tapered pointed chin and unusually long neck.8 It has become increasingly clear as the result of recent scholarship

that stone heads of the so-called Celtic tradition survive in large numbers.9 It is also apparent that the range of physiognomical types is as broad as the chronology. Falling somewhat outside the main stream of the majority of these Celtic stone heads is the particular treatment of the hair and ears of the Cleveland example. The top of

the head bears a series of deeply incised lines (Figures 3-4) extending downward along the sides to suggest individual locks of hair. The lines form a rough pattern of crosshatching. Viewed frontally, the

scalp line is suggested by a curved raised field extending left to right across the brow (Figure 1). The hair appears to descend in thickening masses behind the ears.

While the depiction of hair on Celtic stone heads is not by and

large common, it is certainly not without parallel, particularly among the later Romano-Celtic versions. Among this latter group, some fairly elaborate coiffures may even be noted. What is highly

85

86 distinctive about the Cleveland head is not so much the representa tion of hair by the sculptor, but the particular treatment accorded to it. In this case, the rough crosshatching technique appears unique.

Another distinctive characteristic of the Cleveland head is the unusual modeling of the ears which protrude sharply from the sides.

Again, the depiction of ears is not without precedent, though more

commonly the ears, if represented, are much less prominent, tending to lay closer to the sides of the head. More perplexing still is their

particular shape appearing to point upward and outward as equine or cervine ears. Slight damage to the very tips of both ears makes it difficult to assess the intention of the Celtic sculptor, though we consider it highly possible that such ears were being suggested here. Indeed zoomorphic expression is a common element of Celtic

iconography.10 The use of horns is perhaps the most prominent adaptation of animal attributes; however, the placement and shape of the ears of the Cleveland head would argue against their being interpreted as horns.

The Celtic head in Cleveland is relatively well preserved with only minimal losses and little visible evidence of weathering. This has

understandably produced a measure of confusion as to the object's age and identity." As with most Celtic stone heads preserved today, the archaeological evidence is either obliterated or obscure. The

original find sites are often unrecorded, the sculptures having been

frequently moved and re-used in more recent history such as in the fabric of buildings or even as garden ornaments. In cases where

virtually nothing is known of their provenance, attempts at localiza tion or accurate dating have proven to be supremely difficult.

Indeed, the work of cataloguing and classification by type, material, or style is relatively recent.'2 As such, the Cleveland Celtic head is little known and virtually unpublished. Its recorded provenance extends back to only 1904, when it is reported to have surfaced on the French art market.13 From there it appears to have passed into the

collection of Walter Carl in Frankfurt, who apparently considered the head to be North German and dating to the eleventh or twelfth

century. The object, in fact, is illustrated in the auction catalogue of the July 1919 sale of the Carl Collection bearing this description.'4

The whereabouts of the stone head between 1919 and 1945, when it

entered the collection of the dealer-collector Jacob Hirsch in New

York, is not clear. The vicissitudes of the war years may have been

instrumental in the change of hands. It is possible that the head was

purchased by an unknown member of the Rothschild family at the 1919 Frankfurt auction, though this remains unconfirmed.15 In 1945 the sculpture subsequently entered the Hirsch Collection where it re

mained until being donated to the Museum by Dr. and Mrs. Hirsch

in 1955.16

Figure 5. Janus Heads. Limestone with traces of original red and black paint, H. 34 cm. France (Celto-Ligurian), Bouches-du-Rh6ne, Roquepertuse, 3rd 2nd century BC. Marseilles, Mus e d'archeologie, Inv. no. 6017.

The most intriguing questions regarding the Cleveland head, if not also the most pertinent, relate to its original context and intended purpose. Here we can make certain inferences from the object itself. The head and face tilt slightly forward away from the line of axis suggesting that the sculpture was intended to be viewed from slightly below (Figure 3). In its original setting the head would therefore have likely been placed above eye level. The back of the head and neck remain unfinished with no suggestion of modeling. Only a series of coarse chisel marks may be detected generally running horizontally across the surface of the stone (Figure 3). This would certainly imply that the back of the head was not intended to be seen at all. We may further adduce with some certainty that the head was originally placed in a protective niche or else incorporated into some larger design-perhaps the masonry of a wall or building.

Recent scientific examination by the Museum's conservation laboratory has brought forward some fascinating new evidence.17 First, under ultra-violet light the head displays a somewhat uneven fluorescence, probably the result of exposure to the elements. Most notable is the absence of fluorescence on the bottom 2 inches of the neck, as well as its underside, giving the impression of a dark band spanning the bottom of the neck. This indicates that the bottom of the neck was protected from the outdoor elements in its original context, probably by being inserted into a stone cavity or recess as a means of support. This also seems to support the thesis that the head was a composition complete in itself and never affixed to a torso. Additionally, microscopic examination has revealed not only burial accretions but also traces of what appear to be original paint remnants, which indicate that the entire surface of the head was painted red in its original context.18 If the Cleveland Celtic head were indeed painted originally, this once again would not be unprecedented, and other examples have survived with evidence of such painting. Perhaps the earliest in date are the Celto-Ligurian Janus heads of the third or second century BC found at Roquepertuse (Figure 5). The faces of these heads were originally painted red with black hair falling to the eyebrows. It is also known that most later Celtic sculptures in Britain and Ireland as well as Viking age sculp ture of England and Scandinavia were nearly always painted.19 A

more contemporaneous example, for instance, is a Romano-Celtic

87

88

Figure 6. Romano-Celtic Head. Limestone

with traces of original red paint, H. 20.3

cm. England, Gloucester, Bon Marche

Site, 1 st century AD. Gloucester, City Museum and Art Gallery, Inv. no. A.2734.

Figure 7. Cunobeline Stater, obverse (left) and reverse (right). Gold, Diam. 1.5 cm. England, issued at Camulodunum (Colchester), AD 10-40. The Norweb

Collection. CMA 69.152

They like the old and well-known money, coins with indented edges, or showing a two-horse chariot.

Tacitus, Germania V (AD 1 st century)

head dating to the first century AD and found within the Roman city of Gloucester in western England (Figure 6). Here also are retained traces of original red paint. The recurrence of the color red in

conjunction with a number of extant Celtic stone heads would

appear to suggest cult significance. However, further study and

testing of a broader sampling of these heads appears warranted, if firm conclusions are to be reached. Further scientific study might reveal consistencies or patterns in the painting of Celtic heads.

The material remains of Celtic culture tend to fall within two main

groups. The first consists of objects of highly skilled metalwork items of personal adornment, weapons, horse trappings, chariot

fittings, vessels, and coins-most of which were recovered as grave goods.20 Celtic Britain, for instance, produced an extensive coinage, much of it based on Greco-Roman models. These coins were issued

by regional tribes and bore the names of the chieftains who ruled over them. One such Celtic chieftain, Cunobelinus, is represented by an example from the collection of British gold coins donated to the

Museum by Mrs. R. Henry Norweb (Figure 7).21 The obverse of this coin, a gold stater, bears the inscription CAMVL, identifying its place of minting as Camulodunum (now Colchester). Cunobelinus, who ruled over the Trinovantes and Catuvellauni, is known to have issued coins from this location in the period before the Claudian invasion.22

In addition to this rich metallic art, we also find a second group consisting mainly of Celtic stone and wood carvings, apparently cult

objects produced with votive or ritualistic purposes in mind.23 Needless to say, objects fashioned in wood have only survived in

exceptional circumstances. However, stone carvings of the Celtic Iron Age and later are relatively abundant, particularly representa tions of the human head carved either in the round or in relief. The

human head appears to have been central to Celtic iconography, recurring throughout the Celtic world on stone, wood, and metal. It has been suggested that to the pagan Celts, the human head bore as much religious symbolism as the cross to a community of Chris tians.24 Rarely did the Celts portray the human figure in full length, preferring most of the time to portray the head alone. Occasionally such heads are paired together to form a single two-headed Janiform figure (Figure 5), or else they are depicted in groups of three (triceph alic) or four (quadricephalic). Heads with animal attributes are also

common as are those which specifically represent a severed head

(totes couples; Figure 8). Here the preponderance of the head motif in Celtic art clearly implies special significance. The meaning of this cult, though, is not entirely clear.

Figure 8. Severed Head (Tete couple). Detail of the Tarasque de Noves. Limestone. France (Celto-Ligurian), Bouches-du-Rh6ne, Noves, 3rd or 2nd century (B. Avignon, Mus6e Calvet, Inv. no. N.51.

For the Celts spent the first day cutting off, according to their custom, the heads of the dead.

Diodorus Siculus, XIV: 1 5 (1 st century BC)

It is known from the classical literary sources as well as the re presentational and archaeological evidence that the Celts practiced ritualistic headhunting, that is to say, the act of severing the head from the body after death.25 The observations of the classical authors are plentiful and consistent on this point. A Celtic sculpture of a

mythological anthropophagus monster, perhaps a stylized lion or wolf, known as the Tarasque de Noves, found in the Rhbne Valley at Noves and dating to the third or second century BC, depicts the beast clutching two decapitated heads in its claws (Figure 8). This almost certainly suggests that the practice of headhunting was familiar to the Celtic sculptor. Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian of the late first century BC, observes that "In exactly the same way as hunters do

with the skulls of animals they have slain ... they [the Celts] pre served the heads of their most high-ranking victims in cedar oil, keeping them carefully in wooden boxes." 2" Elsewhere, he explains that the heads of slain enemies were impaled on spears or fastened to the saddles of their horses to be carried home in triumph. There they were fastened to the doors of houses or placed in temples.'7

89

90 Figure 9. Portico of the Celto-Ligurian Sanctuary of Roquepertuse. Limestone. France, Bouches-du-Rh6ne, Roquepertuse, 3rd-2nd century BC. Marseilles, Musee d'arch(ologie, Inv. no. 60151. The three uprights are furnished with niches cut to receive human votive heads or skulls; the entire structure was originally painted.

i~ks '.~

The placing of decapitated human heads in temples is supported archaeologically. In 1919-1927 a Celtic sanctuary was excavated in France at Roquepertuse (Bouches-du-Rhone), north of Marseilles. From this site were recovered architectural fragments and sculptures of the third to second century BC, fashioned in the local limestone (Figures 5, 9). Among these remains was a simple portal consisting of three uprights, squared, and supporting a lintel (Figure 9). In the uprights were found oval niches cut to receive human heads or skulls as votive objects. From this same sanctuary was found the previously

mentioned stone Janus head (Figure 5), simply but incisively carved. This particular genre was common throughout the Celtic world from Eastern Europe to Ireland and is named after the Roman god, the guardian of portals and patron of beginnings and endings. An interesting feature of this sanctuary is the dual role, in ritual practice, of both human heads and stone representational images. Here, the Roquepertuse Janus head is undoubtedly intended to represent a god, in this case possibly a dual being, depicted according to Celtic formula without a body.

Figure 10. Group of Severed Heads (Tetes couples) from the Celto-Ligurian Sanctuary of Entremont. Limestone, H. 43

cm. France, Bouches-du-Rh6ne, Entremont, 3rd-2nd century BC. Aix-en

Provence, Musee Granet.

The Celts placed considerable importance on their collections of heads, particularly those of distinguished enemies. Diodorus explains that their owners displayed them to strangers with great pride.28 Still another Celto-Ligurian sanctuary at Entremont, near Aix-en Provence, has revealed provisions for displaying skulls. Also from this site, which was destroyed by the Romans in 123-122 BC, has survived a limestone group of four "severed" heads represented with eyes closed as is customary with this motif (Figure 10). The group dates to the third or second century BC. The cult of the severed head

was apparently not only confined to the collecting of skulls of slain enemies, but also may have occasionally included the heads of sacrificial victims.29

Anne Ross, who has pioneered the study of British Celtic art as well as the cult of the head, notes that the Celts were not alone in their practice of collecting heads. It is, in fact, widely known that it has been practiced by a number of cultures throughout history, extending to modern times. However, the Celts were, she comments, "singular in the extent to which they carried this veneration incorpo rating the head in their art and in their religious practices as a symbol and as an object of superstitious regard."30

To the Celtic peoples of Europe, the human head was venerated as the seat of human magical energy. The cult significance of this, though not completely understood, was perhaps to provide talis

mans, a source of magical power or good luck. It may have even been connected with the memorialization of the dead, since the

head was the means of identifying the individual. That the practice was not confined to the continental Celts, but was practiced in the British Isles as well, is demonstrated both archaeologically and in the literary sources. Later Irish and Welsh literature, for instance, contain numerous references to the practice: an Ulster warrior, Conall Cernach, boasts of sleeping every night with the head of a slain Connaught man under his knee, and elsewhere, another Irish hero is mortally wounded in battle and before he dies requests that his comrades cut off his head and carry it with them as a talisman.31

The manifestations of this cult are apparent in the number of stone heads-either carved in the round or in relief-found across conti

nental Europe and the British Isles. Some of them such as the Roquepertuse Janus head (Figure 5) derive from a dated context and can be assigned to the La Tene Era of the Celtic Iron Age (ca. 450 BC

to the Roman conquest). Many, however, cannot be easily dated or localized in the absence of recorded archaeological information.

Here, typological arrangement and study are the only recourse.

91

figure 11 Celtic Head. Stone, H. 13.3

Figure I 1. Celtic Head. Stone, H. 13.3

cm. England, Yorkshire, late Iron Age (La Tene Era). Skipton, The Craven Museum, Inv. no. D3234E12.

It must be noted that in England Celtic stone heads survive in

astonishing numbers, particularly in the north, and most of these are three dimensional and freestanding. Anne Ross has identified many of them in her comprehensive study of 1967.32 The first real step toward the compilation of a working repertory or corpus of this

material, however, was taken in 1973 with the publication of some sixty-one examples by Sidney Jackson.33 Jackson had recorded 378 stone heads from the West Riding of Yorkshire alone, and had apparently planned to publish others prior to his death. Most of the heads surveyed by Jackson, again, do not derive from a dated archaeological context. He reported that a good many were un earthed in domestic gardens while others were built into dry field walls or the gables of barns.34 Among these heads, it can be adduced on stylistic grounds that some are clearly of later date-products of an old, undying tradition. This latter group should perhaps be viewed in the context of native folk art and folklore, suggestive of the belief in many rural parts of Britain that such heads could attract good luck

while averting evil. Yet many of the British stone heads recorded by Jackson and others would appear to be genuinely ancient, that is to say possibly dating to the late Iron Age (La Tene Era) or more likely the Romano-British period. Indeed, the profusion of these Celtic stone heads in the north of England would only underscore the impact and longevity of the head cult in this part of Britain-though such heads are certainly found elsewhere in the British Isles. What has been observed, in broad terms, by the distribution of stone heads is that the more isolated upland regions of England such as the

Pennines, the Peak District, and Cumbria were less directly influ enced by the Roman and later invasions.35 Hence, we might infer that the production of such stone heads and their rate of survival

would be all the greater in these areas.

The stone head in The Cleveland Museum of Art bears some points of comparison with a number of these heads from Yorkshire, specifically the lentoid eyes, triangular nose, and slit mouth. How ever, in general germs, the majority of these northern heads tend to be much more simply carved than the Cleveland example. Often, the features are but minimally rendered with little or no attempt to suggest hair or ears. One such example is a smaller than lifesize

head presumed on typological grounds to date to the Celtic Iron Age (Figure 11) and now preserved in The Craven Museum in Skipton,

North Yorkshire. The Skipton head bears the typical Celtic features of lentoid eyes, triangular nose, and slit mouth, and in this case, some attempt to indicate ears-though the treatment is less incisive

and relatively simplistic. Somewhat more involved in terms of both modeling and style is a Celtic head now in the Sheffield City Mu seum in South Yorkshire (Figure 12). This example was originally

Figure 12. Celtic Head. Gritstone, H. 28 cm. England, Pennines, found (unstratified) Hathersage, Derbyshire, late Iron Age(?). Sheffield City Museum.

found unstratified in nearby Hathersage, Derbyshire, and is fash ioned from the local gritstone. Here the features are more sharply, and perhaps more realistically rendered. An attempt has been made to indicate hair and facial lines. It is the treatment of the eyes, however, commonly referred to as spectacle eyes due to the render

ing of double lids, which dominate the visage. Such eyes are occa

sionally found on northern specimens. Also noteworthy on the Sheffield head is the elongated, almost bottle-shaped neck, which

clearly indicates that the head is a complete composition in itself, never attached to a torso, and probably intended to be inset into a

larger design. By comparison, the Cleveland head is relatively more adept in its overall modeling and use of proportion, and here the word relatively must be underscored. It would appear instead to relate to a different, less insular, group of sculptures. More likely the

Cleveland stone head derives from a Romano-Celtic context." Since we have established that the head was never attached to a torso, we must assume that its original purpose was votive.

93

94

Figure 13. Head of a Celtic God (formerly thought to represent Maponus). Sandstone, H. 17.6 cm. Northern England, Romano-British, Northumberland, Corbridge, 2nd-4th century AD. Newcastle-upon-Tyne,

Museum of Antiquities of the University and Society of Antiquaries.

It is this author's view that the Cleveland head must be identified with a native shrine. The axis of the head as well as the length of the

neck would seem to support the votive function of this sculpture. Additionally, the triangular groove on the crown of the head (Figure 4) is certainly present by design, though its meaning is enigmatic. As already mentioned, a number of Celtic stone heads have been found to possess hollowed depressions in the crowns, a feature associated

with offerings or libations. The hollowed crowns have been pre sumed to have served as a type of font or small altar and, by exten

sion, have been associated with the Celtic cult practice of using actual skulls in their shrines.37 The Roman historian Livy describes the custom of the Boii, one of the Celtic tribes of the Continent, of embellishing skulls with gold and using them as cups for libations.38

A striking sandstone head of the second or third century AD found at Corbridge in Northumberland in 1911 bears such a hollowed crown (Figure 13). The Corbridge head, though not heavily Ro manized, certainly derives from a Romano-British context. The hollowed crown, however, is not a Roman convention and must be viewed as a reflection of Celtic cult practice. The Corbridge head is generally accepted as being a representation of a local god.39

Whether the triangular groove on the crown of the Cleveland head was intended as a designated space or focus for votive offerings cannot be ascertained. It is conceivable that the sculptor, possibly a Romanized Celt, abandoned plans to carve out a depression after incising the outline. Though conjectural, the suggestion that this triangular groove has votive associations is a plausible one.

It has been suggested that some Celtic stone heads were produced as cult objects to be used as surrogates for actual decapitated human heads. Some of the carved heads found at Entremont, as well as

others with hollowed crowns which we have mentioned, may suggest this function in certain instances, and while this may have been true with some La Tene Era examples, the Cleveland head is

undoubtedly not a tete couple. Nor do the schematized features suggest-however rudimentary-an early attempt at portraiture as

we understand it. Yet memorialization of an important figure such as a dead hero or chieftain cannot be ruled out.

It has recently been suggested by one student of this subject that the Celts portrayed their gods by the head alone as this was the most

important part of the image, although complete figures have also been found. Miranda Green, who has studied Celtic cult expression considers that "it [the head] was the means of identifying an individ

ual, and was recognized as the power-centre for human action ... it was clearly venerated as the most significant element in a human or divine image, representing the whole."40 In this context, it would seem that the most likely function of the Celtic stone head in Cleve land was the representation of a local deity. This would appear particularly apropos, since the Cleveland head is obviously not a tete couple, but apparently fulfills some votive function.

The historical evidence, such as the observations of Roman writers, as well as the epigraphic information reveals about 400 god names for Romanized Gaul. Of these, over 300 apparently occur

only once.41 The suggestion here of course is that many of these were very localized deities. Indeed, the evidence further implies that many of them were associated with natural phenomena such as springs, wells, rivers, trees, and so forth. There seems to be a par ticuar association with water. Noteworthy examples in Britain are the god Sulis at Bath, the goddess Arnemetia at Buxton, and a

number of others at such sites as Chester and Rochester. In Roman Gaul at least some of these gods seemingly became associated with specific regions as suggested by the iconographic patterns. Any firm conclusions we might draw from this, however, remain arbitrary.

In Britain, on the frontier of the empire, where Romanization proceeded far less surely and completely than on the Continent, we find the diffusion and assimilation of Roman modes to be a matter of

degree. Not all areas of Britain were equally Romanized. In the upland regions, that is to say the north and west, the Roman pres ence was largely military and administrative. Hence the cultural impact of the Roman occupation was expectedly less pronounced there than in the lowland regions of the south and east of England. It is important to note that Celtic stone heads have survived in the former region in a profusion unknown elsewhere in the Celtic world.

Of the extant Celtic stone heads found in Britain, some are clearly of Romano-British provenance, and of this group some indeed display remarkable levels of classical realism, while retaining their essentially Celtic characteristics. The head from the Bon Marche site at Gloucester (Figure 6) is one such heavily Romanized example. Reminiscent of the Julio-Claudian style, the head betrays a sense of classical proportion combined with a native Celtic treatment of the features, particularly in terms of its large bulbous eyes. The Bon

March head likely derives from a flat background as is suggested by the vertical terminus of the neck, possibly an architectural element.

95

96 Figure 14. Head of a Celtic God (the god Antenociticus?). Stone, H. 30.5 cm.

Northern England, Romano-British, f,.. Northumberland, Benwell (on Hadrian's Wall), 2nd-3rd century AD. Newcastle upon-Tyne, Museum of Antiquities of the

Yet another Romanized head, this time deriving from a complete statue is thought from its find site and inscriptions to have been intended to represent the Celtic god Antenociticus (Figure 14). The head was excavated from a shrine dedicated to that deity at the Roman fort at Benwell on Hadrian's wall (Northumberland).42 Though richly steeped in Roman modes, the treatment of the hair and eyes again reveals the native Celtic influence of its sculptor.

It is conceivable that several Celtic deities were adapted by the Roman forces to meet the needs of the occupying army. Ross has shown the frequency with which certain Celtic god-names were invoked in the border country of northern England, names such as

Belatucadrus, Codidius, Mogans, Maponus, and Vitiris.4l Ross points out that in at least five inscriptions to the god Maponus, he is invoked by high-ranking officers in the Roman army.44 Thus, the assimilation of Roman modes by the native British Celts is perfectly understandable and natural, particularly near Roman military and administrative centers. Conversely, the farther removed from such centers, the greater the retention of insular modes.

The Cleveland stone head (Figures 1-4) is observably far less Romanized than the examples just cited, being less realistically modeled and strikingly less proportionate. Nevertheless, the Cleve land head does not present the strict rejection of naturalism in favor of stylization and schematization characteristic of the more insular examples such as the Skipton, Sheffield, and Corbridge heads (Figures 1 1-1 3). What is suggested by the Cleveland example is the absorption, however limited, by a native artist of some Roman ideas and manifested by a relatively greater use of naturalism. This is indicated, for instance, by the heavy emphasis on the hair and ears of the Cleveland head.

Figure 15. Head of a Celtic Goddess. Sandstone, H. 25.5 cm. England, Romano-British, Wiltshire, Winterslow, 2nd-3rd century AD. Salisbury, The Salisbury and South Wiltshire Museum, Acc. no. 42/1961.

Comparable to our example is a slightly smaller female head, fashioned from sandstone, and today preserved in the Salisbury

Museum in Wiltshire (Figures 15-1 6). This head was originally excavated not far away at Winterslow in a datable strata on the line of the Roman road between Old Sarum and Winchester. Like the Cleveland head, the Winterslow example is supported by an elon gated neck which could never have been attached to a torso. In view of this feature, it is unlikely that the head was intended as a portrait but, as J. M. C. Toynbee believes, must have been fashioned as a representation of a local deity.45 The Winterslow head shows a greater degree of Romanization, noted especially in the profile view

Figure 16. Head of a Celtic Goddess (Figure 15).

97

98 (Figure 16). The hair is drawn back into a bun and the head shows

greater understanding of the canons of proportion. However, the

points of comparison between the Winterslow and Cleveland heads are worthy of note: the small lentoid eyes, wedge-shapfed nose, slit mouth, pointed chin, and generally shallow features.46 Viewed

frontally, the hair of both heads bulges outward as it is drawn behind the ears. Unlike the Cleveland head, the Winterslow example was

obviously meant to be viewed from all sides as the back is com

pletely modeled. The Winterslow head supplies the closest comparison to date for

the Cleveland example. The similarities of physiognomy and style provide additional criteria for dating the Cleveland head in the second or third century, and for adducing a Romano-British rather than a Gallo-Roman attribution. Unfortunately, the evidence is not sufficient to propose a localization for this head. What emerges in the study of these stone Celtic heads is the almost infinite capacity for variation within a given type. Since the Cleveland Celtic head has an unknown provenance, like many of the extant heads on

record, a firm date and localization may never be possible. We may add one additional thought at this juncture. The Cleve

land head is fashioned from sandstone, which may, in general terms, suggest a northern English rather than a southern English source (the

Winterslow head being an obvious exception). Sandstone, particu larly the color of our example, is the common material for building and sculpture in the north. While this in itself cannot, of course, be taken as evidence for localization it makes interesting conjecture in

light of other factors we have discussed. At first glance, the Celtic stone head in Cleveland stands as an

enigmatic link to a still unclear period in northern European his

tory.47 Simply carved and lacking provenance, this intriguing sculp ture has remained virtually unknown since its acquisition, and until now virtually unpublished. William D. Wixom, former Curator of

Medieval and Renaissance Decorative Arts in this Museum, took the initial steps in correctly identifying the head and researching its recent history. The present author sustains Mr. Wixom's attribution and has endeavored to offer new thoughts on the object as well as

to place it within a more cogent art historical context. Additionally, it is hoped that the Cleveland Celtic head, which to this author's

knowledge may be the only Romano-British example in a public collection in the United States, has now been made accessible to a

wider audience.

Stephen Fliegel Curatorial Assistant, Department of Early Western Art

Photograph credits: Figure 5, courtesy A.R.M., Marseilles; Figure 6, courtesy City Museum and Art Gallery,Gloucester; Figure 8, courtesy Musee Calvet,

Avignon; Figures 9-10, after MacCana, Celtic Mythology, pp. 100, 77; Figure 11, courtesy The Craven Museum and David

Hyde Photography, Skipton; Figure 12, courtesy Sheffield City Museum; Figures 13-14, after Toynbee, Art in Roman

Britain, fig. 49, frontispiece; Figures 15 16, courtesy The Salisbury and South

Wiltshire Museum.

I wish to thank the following individuals for making this article possible: M. N. Petch of The Manchester Museum (England) for generously sharing his broad knowledge of Celtic stone heads; Bruce Christman, Conservator of Objects, The Cleveland Museum of Art, for taking time from his demanding schedule to examine and report on the object; William D.

Wixom, Chairman of the Medieval Department, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, whose preliminary re search inspired this article; Clare Cony beare of the Salisbury and South Wiltshire

Museum; and particular thanks to my wife, Janice, for her interest and encouragement.

1. Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico, Book

V, 14; English quotation from Julius Caesar, The Battle for Gaul, trans. Anne

and Peter Wiseman (Boston: David R.

Godine, 1980), p. 94.

2. Gerhard Herm, The Celts, trans.

Weidenfeld and Nicolson Ltd. (New York: St. Martin's Press, 1977), 202-203, 205.

3. Julius Caesar, De Bello Gallico, Book IV, 33; English quotation cited in Herm, The Celts, 203.

4. Herm (The Celts, 204-205) proposes a linguistic argument for these dates. See

also the classic study of this period in

British history by Anne Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain: Studies in Iconography and Tradition (London: Routledge and Kegan Paul; New York: Columbia University Press, 1967), 14-16, for a more conser

vative assessment. The question of when the Celts first arrived in the British Isles

remains problematical from both a lin

guistic and archaeological point of view.

5. Tacitus, The Annals of Imperial Rome, trans. Michael Grant (Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, 1975), 327.

6. Ibid., 327-328.

7. CMA 55.555 Celtic Head (Romano British type). Fine-grained, arkosic sandstone, H. 33 cm., W. 29.8 cm.

England (northern?), second or third century AD. Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jacob Hirsch. Ex collections: Walter Carl, Frankfurt (his sale: F. A. C. Prestel, Frankfurt-am-Main, July 10, 1919, lot 6, pl. I); Rothschild(?); Dr. Jacob Hirsch, New York (1945-1955). Publications: Max Pulver, "Umschau," Das Kunstblatt 9 (September 1919): repr 284; CMA Bulletin 45 (March 1958): 51 (repr.).

8. The physiognomy of the Celtic tradition may include some or most of the fol

lowing characteristics: (1) lack of defined cheek bones, (2) simple lentoid or "spectacle" eyes, (3) simple slit mouth, (4) crude triangular nose, (5) general lack of proportion, (6) expressionless features, (7) flat face with tapering, pointed chin, and (8) neck of unusual length or bulk, or

sometimes missing completely. Other features often found may include: (9) large, oversized or bulbous eyes, (10) horns, (11) spiral cheeks, (12) a small hole drilled at center of the mouth termed a "cigarette" or "whistle" hole (found on a number of examples and remains of unknown purpose), (13) hollowed crown for libations or offerings, and (14) elaborate hairstyles, sometimes including a beard or moustache. For further dis cussion of these characteristics, see also Sidney Jackson, Celtic and Other Stone Heads (Shipley, Yorkshire: Sidney Jackson, 1973), 2-3; Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 61-126; Miranda Green, The Gods of the Celts (Gloucester: Alan Sutton; Totowa, N.J.: Barnes and Noble Books, 1986), 200-225; Paul Jacobsthal, Early Celtic Art, 2 vols. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1944), 1:12-24; Martin Petch, Celtic Stone Sculptures, exh. cat. (London: Karsten Schubert and Rupert

Wace Ancient Art, 1989), 5-6.

99

100 9. Martin Petch of The Manchester Mu seum (England) recommends the use of the description "stone heads of the Celtic tradition" as opposed to the strict nomen clature "Celtic heads" since it is apparent that not all extant stone heads date from

the Celtic Iron Age. Petch rightly views this material as being reflective of a Celtic tradition of "great longevity." (M. N. Petch, letter to the author, January 13, 1989, curatorial files, Cleveland). See also [M. N. Petch], Archaeology: Celtic Stone

Heads, Manchester Museum Information Sheet No. A1 (Manchester: The Man

chester Museum, 1978). The typological grouping and dating of these abundant British specimens, many of which are unprovenanced, is a relatively recent undertaking. The author acknowledges that some of the stone heads surveyed in recent decades are undoubtedly of re latively modern date. As our concerns here, however, are limited to a single ex

ample and related comparisons, all of which are accepted by the author to date

no later than the Roman occupation of

Britain, it seems appropriate for our pur pose to retain the traditional nomen

clature "Celtic heads."

10. Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 299, 301; Green, Gods of the Celts, 168-169, 195; Proinsias MacCana, Celtic Mythology (Feltham, Middlesex: Newnes Books, 1968), 39-42.

11. Sale: Frankfurt, F. A. C. Prestel, July 10, 1919, Sammlung Walter Carl, lot 6; Pulver, "Umschau," 284 (repr.), where described as North German, 11th-12th century. Hanns Swarzenski is reported to have visited the Museum on March 15, 1965, when he apparently viewed the Cleveland Celtic Head and verbally expressed the opinion that the head might be English Romanesque (Herfordshire, presumably Kilpeck), 11-12th century (handwritten note and memorandum,

William D. Wixom to Sherman E. Lee, Director, April 6, 1967, curatorial files, Cleveland). Subsequent comparative research by this author combined with technical examination of the sculpture by the Museum's Conservation Laboratory has discounted these attributions and dates as serious possibilities.

12. Jackson, Celtic and Other Stone Heads (foreword by Anne Ross), p. 1; Petch, Archaeology, 1.

13. Tom Virzi (executor of Jacob Hirsch's estate), letter to William D. Wixom, December 31, 1965, curatorial files, Cleveland.

14. Sale: Frankfurt, F. A. C. Prestel, July 10, 1919, Sammlung Walter Carl, lot 6.

15. Ibid. A pencil notation in the margin of the copy of this sale catalogue on

deposit in the Museum's Ingalls Library reads Rothschild next to lot 6 (now Cleve

land Celtic Head). The same name

appears penciled in next to several other

lots as are the following annotations: "Berlin, Dresden, Rasmussen, Nagel,

Hackenbroch, J. S. Goldschmidt," etc., as well as the apparent hammer prices for

that auction. Interestingly, the latter two

names, Hackenbroch and Goldschmidt, undoubtedly refer to the same Frankfurt

based dealers who, in 1930, were in

volved in bringing the Guelph Treasure to the United States and ultimately in the

Museum's acquisition of nine of those objects. This, plus the fact that the anno

tations in this catalogue appear in a

consistent but rushed German hand, seem

to suggest that they were penciled in by someone in attendance at the actual

bidding of this sale. The "Rothschild" notation next to lot 6 thus clearly implies that the Celtic head now in Cleveland

was purchased by a member of that

prestigious family. This may indeed be the case, but thus far a Rothschild prove nance has not been corroborated else

where, nor has the author been able to

identify the source of the pencil notation.

16. Tom Virzi, letter to William D.

Wixom, December 31, 1965, curatorial files, Cleveland: "Dr. Hirsch had acquired the object in 1945 through the good offices of his friend, the late Professor Paul

Jacobsthal, who, once professor of the Wurzburg University [sic], occupied at

that time a chair at the Christ Church Col

lege in Oxford. He was specialized in

Celtic Art and never doubted the Celtic

origin of the head." It is interesting to note

in light of this, a statement made by Jacob Hirsch to Sherman E. Lee that the Celtic

head was "found near Oxford" (William D. Wixom, letter to Stuart Piggott, Uni versity of Edinburgh, July 15, 1965, curatorial files, Cleveland). If we interpret "found" to mean purchased and not

excavated, this suggests that the head was

available on the art market in or near

Oxford in 1945 when it was secured by Paul Jacobsthal for Jacob Hirsch.

17. The head was examined by Bruce

Christman, Conservator of Objects, November 2-3, 1989.

18. Bruce Christman's examination under the microscope revealed the presence of pink paint inside the crevice of the mouth. The paint lies beneath burial accretions, and thus it is reasonable to assume that

the paint was present before burial of the

head. A sample of the pink paint was taken for positive identification. Study of the sample by Mr. Christman using the x-ray fluorescence spectrometer showed that the predominant element of the sample was lead. Using polarized light microscopy and x-ray diffraction, a mixture of red lead and white lead was

identified. Further examination of other locations on the head also revealed

consistently the presence of lead. Rhodamine-B stain was applied to the sample which was mounted for media

identification and examined under the ultraviolet microscope. The presence of an oil medium was indicated by a bright

orange stain which was observed on the

sample. Since red lead in oil binders is

known to turn to a pink or white color

upon prolonged exposure to the elements outdoors, it seems appropriate to assume that the head was originally painted

with red lead. Additionally, since Mr.

Christman detected the presence of lead over the entire surface of the head, it seems reasonable to conclude that the

entire head was apparently painted. Finally, no evidence of restoration or recutting of the stone was detected. (See

Mr. Christman's report, November 1989, curatorial and Conservation Department files, Cleveland).

101

102 19. Lloyd Laing, Later Celtic Art in Britain and Ireland (Aylesbury: Shire Publica tions, 1987), 20.

20. Ruth and Vincent Megaw, Early Celtic Art in Britain and Ireland (Aylesbury: Shire Publications, 1986), 9. See also idem, Celtic Art from Its Beginnings to the Book of Kells (London: Thames and Hudson, 1989), for an excellent survey. On Celtic

metalworking techniques, see I. M. Stead, Celtic Art in Britain before the Roman

Conquest (London: British Museum Publi cations, 1985), 8-14.

21. CMA 69.152 Cunobeline Stater. Gold, Diam. 1.5 cm., Wt. 5.403 gms. Britain

(England), Colchester, ca. AD 10-40. The Norweb Collection. Ex collection: Mr. and Mrs. R. Henry Norweb. Literature:

Emery May Norweb, English Gold Coins, Ancient to Modern Times on Loan to The Cleveland Museum of Art from the Norweb Collection (Cleveland: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1968), 11.

22. Stuart Piggott and Derek Allen, Early Celtic Art, exh. cat. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press for the Arts Council of Great Britain, 1970), 35. On Celtic coin

age, see also Megaw, Celtic Art from Its

Beginnings, 177-182.

23. Megaw, Early Celtic Art in Britain, 9.

24. Ibid. On the role of the head motif in Celtic iconography, see also Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 61-126; Green, Gods of the

Celts, 216-220; Pierre Lambrechts, L 'Exaltation de la tete dans la pens6e et

dans I'art des Celtes, Dissertations

Archaeologicae Gandenses, vol. 2 (Bruges: De Tempel, 1954), 67-104; Petch, Celtic Stone Sculptures, 5.

25. Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 64-65; Herm, The Celts, 54-55, 105-106, 152 153; Green, Gods of the Celts, 28-32; Lambrechts, Exaltation de la t6te, 37-39; Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History, trans. C. H. Oldfather, 12 vols. (Cam bridge, Mass: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1954), 6 (Book XIV, 115): 311.

26. Diodorus Siculus, Book V, 29.

27. Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 64.

28. Diodorus Siculus, Book V, 29; Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 65.

29. Green, Gods of the Celts, 28.

30. Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 62.

31. These and other examples are cited in Green, Gods of the Celts, 31; see also

MacCana, Celtic Mythology, for an excellent analysis of extant Irish and British literary sources; and Herm, The Celts, 233-255.

32. Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain.

33. Jackson, Celtic and Other Stone Heads. More recently M. N. Petch of the Manchester Museum continues the survey of stone heads from Northern England initiated by Jackson as reported to the author in correspondence, January 13, 1989.

34. Jackson, Celtic and Other Stone

Heads, 2-3.

35. [Petch], Archaeology, 1.

36. Stylistically, all is in favor of a

"Romano-Celtic" attribution for the Cleveland head. This was accepted by

William D. Wixom during his tenure at

the Museum, and by other scholars of this

material who were acquainted with the

head: Stuart Piggott, J. M. C. Toynbee, and more recently M. N. Petch. The at

tribution is sustained here as is the pro

posed dating of second-third century AD.

37. See, for instance, Ross, Pagan Celtic

Britain, 83.

38. Livy [Titus Livius], Livy, trans. Frank Gardner Moore, 14 vols. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press; London: William Heinemann, 1966), 6 (Book XXIII, 24): 83.

39. The Corbridge head has been

suggested to represent the god Maponus (The Divine Youth), the cult of whom was prevalent in the north of Britain, for which see J. M. C. Toynbee, Art in Roman Britain

(London: Phaidon Press, 1962), 146, no. 42, pl. 49; I. A. Richmond, "Two Celtic Heads in Stone from Corbridge, North umberland: A Link with the Dark Ages," in Dark-Age Britain, Studies Presented

to E. T. Leeds, ed. D. B. Harden (London: Methuen & Co., 1956), 11-15, pl. III. The certainty of this identification as "Maponus" has since been questioned, however, by MacCana, Celtic Mythology, 31-33.

40. Green, Gods of the Celts, 31-32.

41. Ibid.

42. See J. M. C. Toynbee, Art in Britain under the Romans (Oxford: The Clar

endon Press, 1964), 106-107, pl. XXVIII,a; idem, Art in Roman Britain, 146, no. 41,

frontispiece; Piggott and Allen, Early Celtic Art, 15-16, no. 74.

43. Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 369-370.

44. Ibid.

45. Toynbee, Art in Britain under the Romans, 105, pi. XXVII, a-b.

46. The similarities between the Cleveland and Winterslow heads were first noted by Stuart Piggott of the Uni versity of Edinburgh, letter to William D.

Wixom, June 20, 1965, curatorial files, Cleveland.

47. For useful bibliographies of Celtic history, culture and art, see Megaw, Celtic Art from Its Beginnings, 259-276, perhaps the most comprehensive to date; Green, Gods of the Celts, 236-249; Ross, Pagan Celtic Britain, 388-399, still valuable but now somewhat superseded.

103