CELTIC IRON AGE SILVER NECKLACE WITH PHALLIC PENDANTS
Ca. 100 BC - 100 AD.
Large and rare silver necklace made of several twisted rods held together by rings, three phallic pendants are attached to the centre. Celtic society, like all patriarchal societies, had the cult of the penis at its core, to the extent that the human body was seen as a phallic object or symbol. Amulets were worn extensively by the Celts, the principal forms in use being phallic, coral, the serpent's "egg" perhaps as protection against the evil eye. For more information on the Celtic Religion, see MacCulloch, J.A. (1911). The Religion of the Ancient Celts. Morrison & Gibb Limited, Edinburgh and on the Celts in general see Stead, I. M. (1997). Celtic Art. Harvard University Press.
Size: L:600mm / W:mm ; 260g
Provenance: From the private collection of a Cambridgeshire gentleman; previously in an old British collection, formed in the 1980s on the UK /European art markets.
Estimate: GBP 1500 - 3000