id: 133163
accession number: 1955.555
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1955.555
updated: 2019-07-31 08:02:00.414000
Celtic Head, 100-300. Northern England (Romano-British), Migration period, 2nd-3rd centuries. Sandstone with traces of original red paint; overall: 30 x 31 x 24 cm (11 13/16 x 12 3/16 x 9 7/16 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jacob Hirsch 1955.555
title: Celtic Head
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: 100-300
creation date earliest: 100
creation date latest: 300
current location: 106A Migration Period & Coptic
creditline: Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Jacob Hirsch
copyright:
---
culture: Northern England (Romano-British), Migration period, 2nd-3rd centuries
technique: sandstone with traces of original red paint
department: Medieval Art
collection: MED - Migration Period
type: Sculpture
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
---
CREATORS
---
measurements: Overall: 30 x 31 x 24 cm (11 13/16 x 12 3/16 x 9 7/16 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
---
CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Paths of Abstract Art
opening date: 1960-10-04T04:00:00
Paths of Abstract Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art (October 4-November 13, 1960).
title: Juxtapositions
opening date: 1965-09-11T04:00:00
Juxtapositions. The Cleveland Museum of Art (September 11-October 10, 1965).
title: Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture
opening date: 2006-09-26T00:00:00
Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture. The Metropolitan Museum of Art (organizer) (September 26, 2006-February 19, 2007).
title: Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2007-05-10T00:00:00
Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Center for the Visual Arts (February 13-June 7, 2009).
---
LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* Metropolitan Museum of Art (9/26/2006 - 2/19/2007): "Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture"
Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007), the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008) and Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (2/13/2009 - 6/7/2009): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art"
---
PROVENANCE
Walter Carl, Frankfurt-am-Main, c. 1904-1919; Rothschild (?); (Dr. Jacob Hirsch, New York, c. 1945-1955).
date:
footnotes:
citations:
---
fun fact:
digital description:
wall description:
This stone head has never been attached to a torso. It is known from ancient literary sources that the Celts, who originally occupied most of northern Europe from Hungary to the British Isles, practiced ritualistic veneration of the human head. For the Celts, the human head represented the seat of mankind’s magical energy. Stone heads similar to this one have survived in large numbers, especially in the upland regions of northern England (the Pennines, the Peak District, and Cumbria) where this one was undoubtedly made by British Celts during the Roman occupation. Such stone heads were probably placed in religious shrines or grottos generally associated with springs, well heads, or natural landmarks for ritual veneration.
---
RELATED WORKS
---
CITATIONS
The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958.
page number: Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 89
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1958/page/n30
The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991.
page number: Reproduced: p. 14
url: https://archive.org/details/CMAHandbook1991/page/n29
Williamson, Paul. The Wyvern Collection: Medieval and Renaissance Sculpture and Metalwork. London: Thames & Hudson, 2018.
page number: CMA Mentioned: p. 15
url:
---
IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1955.555/1955.555_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1955.555/1955.555_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1955.555/1955.555_full.tif