Iron Age Celtic Silver Bird Amulet with Fanned Tail
1st century B.C.-1st century A.D. or later. A silver votive bird with punched detailing, vertical lines to wings, horizontal and triangular lines to the fanned tail. See Green, M., Animals in Celtic Myth and Life, 1992, London. 5.71 grams, 22 mm (7/8 in.). Acquire in the 1990s.Ex Cambridgeshire, UK, collection. There is a group of Celtic gods who are not identified by any one recurrent attribute such as a hammer or antlers, but who fall firmly within the sphere of deities with responsibility for wild nature and the bounty of the earth. They are distinguished by their association with animals or especially birds; the votive birds were often offered to these gods of nature and abundance.