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‘Celts: art and identity’ exhibition: ‘New Celticism’ at the British Museum

Manuel Fernández-Götz

Antiquity / Volume 90 / Issue 349 / February 2016, pp 237 - 244

DOI: 10.15184/aqy.2015.193, Published online: 17 February 2016

Link to this article: http://journals.cambridge.org/abstract_S0003598X15001933

How to cite this article:

Manuel Fernández-Götz (2016). ‘Celts: art and identity’ exhibition: ‘New Celticism’ at the British
Museum. Antiquity, 90, pp 237-244 doi:10.15184/aqy.2015.193

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‘Celts: art and identity’ exhibition:
‘New Celticism’ at the British Museum
Manuel Fernández-Götz∗

“To many, perhaps to most people [ . . . ] ‘Celtic’ of any sort is [ . . . ] a magic bag
into which anything may be put, and out of which almost anything may come [ . . . ]
Anything is possible in the fabulous Celtic twilight” (Tolkien 1963: 29–30; quotation
reproduced at the entrance of the exhibition).
Controversies about the ‘Celts’ have constituted an ongoing debate over the last few decades,
with postures ranging from blank scepticism and denial, to critical revisions, but also to
the maintenance of more traditional approaches. After a lively and overall useful debate in
the pages of Antiquity between 1996–1998 (principally with articles by Vincent and Ruth
Megaw vs Simon James and John Collis), Simon James’s controversial volume The Atlantic
Celts. Ancient people or modern invention? (1999) attracted considerable attention, both
among scholars and the wider public, encouraging discussions about the relationship—if
any—between modern Celtic identities and the ancient Celts. A major milestone was reached
with the publication of John Collis’s monograph The Celts. Origins, myths and inventions
(2003), which is probably the best historiographical review about the construction of the
concept and the different sources involved from Antiquity to modern times. One of his main
points is that classical sources never referred to the presence of Celts on the British Isles and
that the use of the term for the populations of ancient Britain was mainly an invention of

Debate
the modern era (see also Morse 2005, How the Celts came to Britain). From a rather different
perspective, new approaches based mostly on linguistics emphasise the crucial role of the
Atlantic façade in the development of Celtic languages (Cunliffe & Koch 2010).
Although initially a mostly British phenomenon, critical Celticism—called
‘Celtoscepticism’ by authors such as Patrick Sims-Williams, or ‘New Celticism’ by John
Collis himself—has also found a growing echo in Continental European archaeology, with
important contributions by leading scholars such as Gonzalo Ruiz Zapatero (2001) in Spain,
or Sabine Rieckhoff (2007) in Germany. The idea of a homogeneous Celtic culture and
society with a core area in Central Europe and a subsequent expansion during the Late
Iron Age as part of the spread of the La Tène Culture has now been abandoned, or at
least revised, within academic circles. It still represents, however, the dominant narrative in
numerous museums, books and media documentary across Europe. In addition, we have to
acknowledge the existence of a strong ‘popular Celticism’ or ‘public use’ of the Celts with
very heterogeneous manifestations (see Karl et al. 2012), from Celtic re-enactment groups

∗
Chancellor’s Fellow in Archaeology, School of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh,
William Robertson Wing, Old Medical School, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, UK (Email:
m.fernandez-gotz@ed.ac.uk)

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ANTIQUITY 90 349 (2016): 237–244 doi:10.15184/aqy.2015.193
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 Manuel Fernández-Götz

to invented esoteric traditions, writers of ‘fringe archaeology’, or modern political identity

constructions. In the so-called ‘Celtic nations’ of the Atlantic fringe, the idea of a Celtic past
has been particularly influential in order to support present-day purposes, from political
discourses to music festivals and tourist promotions.
The current exhibition, ‘Celts: art and identity’, represents the first time that many of
the new ideas developed within the framework of ‘New Celticism’ have been presented to
the British audience in the form of a large museum attraction. It has been developed in
partnership between the British Museum and National Museums Scotland, and will run
in London from 24 September 2015–31 January 2016, before moving to Edinburgh—in
a slightly different version under the name ‘Celts’—between 10 March and 25 September
2016. The fact that it represents the first major British exhibition about the Celts in more
than four decades—it is 45 years since the last, broad-based exhibition on Early Celtic art
was mounted in Edinburgh and London (Piggott 1970)—explains the considerable impact
that it has already generated in newspapers and magazines, and on television and social
media. ‘Celts: art and identity’ can be seen as the British counterpart to a long list of major
exhibitions on the Celts that have taken place during the last 15 years in places such as
Ávila (Spain, 2001), Bern (Switzerland, 2009) and, more recently, Paris (France, 2012) and
Stuttgart (Germany, 2012–2013)—duly reported in the pages of Antiquity (e.g. Megaw
2010, 2013). The strong emphasis on art and the weight given to later periods makes it
probably more comparable to the Bern exhibition (Müller 2009), although with a distinctive
narrative and a major focus on the British Isles.
The exhibition is accompanied by the publication of a richly illustrated volume edited by
two of the curators, Julia Farley from the British Museum and Fraser Hunter from National
Museums Scotland (2015; see book review by Vincent Megaw 2016 (this issue): 245–48),
and by a smaller book from Ian Leins (2015). Moreover, there is an extensive programme
of complementary events that includes entertainment and activities such as cinema, songs,
poetry, interdisciplinary panel discussions, events for children and families, and lectures by
leading scholars.
The British Museum exhibition is organised into six main thematic sections, distinguished
in the display by different colours: 1) ‘Who are the Celts?’; 2) ‘The first Celts’; 3) ‘The impact
of Rome’; 4) ‘A new Christian world’; 5) ‘The Celtic revival’; and 6) ‘Being Celtic today’.
As the headings imply, it covers not only the evidence from the Iron Age and early medieval
period, but, on the contrary, continues to the present, a feature that distinguishes it from the
above-mentioned Continental exhibitions (Figure 1). Broadly speaking, we can distinguish
two main blocks: the ‘ancient Celts’ and the ‘modern Celts’, whereas the transition between
the two (illustrated by sections three and four on the impact of Rome and early Christianity)
represents the weakest part of the exhibition.
The exhibition includes over 250 remarkable objects borrowed from 16 UK institutions
and 10 international lenders. Most of the material comes from the British Isles, but there are
also numerous Continental pieces—both from the British Museum’s own collections and
from foreign institutions—including some exceptional items such as a copy of the stone
sculpture from Glauberg, the grave goods from the women’s graves of Kleinaspergle and
Waldalgesheim, and, for the first time in such an exhibition, that chef d’oeuvre amongst the
British Museum’s treasures of early Celtic art: the unique pair of flagons from Basse-Yutz;

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 ‘Celts: art and identity’ exhibition

Figure 1. Introduction to the exhibition ‘Celts: art and identity’ at the British Museum: Queen Mary’s harp, National
Museums Scotland; national Eisteddfod banner, Gorsedd of the Bards, Wales; Christian cross slab, Invergowrie, National
Museums Scotland;  C The Trustees of the British Museum.

the Gundestrup cauldron is also present, albeit that this last entry is hardly a product of
Celtic craftsmanship (see Taylor 1992; Figure 2). Local highlights from the River Thames
include the Waterloo helmet and the famous Battersea shield, which also serves as an iconic

Debate
image included in the catalogue cover and in several exhibition flyers.
Section one (‘Who are the Celts?’) masterly summarises the main and changing meanings
of the word ‘Celts’ from Antiquity to the present. It includes maps showing the ‘Celtic
geographies’, a video with a ‘Celtic timeline’ from c. 500 BC to the early twenty-first century
and a selection of objects ranging from the impressive Iron Age statute of Holzgerlingen to
a medieval harp. This rather small introductory section reflects current trends within ‘New
Celticism’ and provides the right background for the rest of the exhibition.
The second section—‘The first Celts’ (we could also say ‘the Iron Age Celts’)—is by far the
largest of the exhibition, comprising the period from around 500 BC to the Roman conquest
(Figure 3). It is structured around several thematic topics such as ‘Farmers and artisans’,
‘Warriors in life and death’, ‘Dress codes’, ‘Horse power’, ‘The art of feasting’ and ‘Gifts to
the gods’. The amount and the quality of the displayed finds is overwhelming and represents
a fine selection of many of the masterpieces of Celtic art, from the decorated shield from
the River Witham (Lincolnshire) to the stone statue of Euffigneix and the aforementioned
finds (Glauberg, Basse-Yutz, Kleinaspergle, Waldalgesheim, Waterloo, Battersea), a wide
sample of Iron Age torcs, a replica of a chariot from East Yorkshire and the Deskford
carnyx—with a recorded performance on a reconstructed horn. Special mention should
be made of the impressive Snettisham hoards containing hundreds of gold and silver

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Figure 2. Gundestrup Cauldron. Silver, The National Museum of Denmark; 

C The Trustees of the British Museum.

torcs; the exhibition of these Snettisham finds is accompanied by explanations about

ritual depositions but also new, ground-breaking scientific analysis that reveal the high
technological skills of the metalworkers (Figure 4). Overall, section two provides an excellent
insight into Late Iron Age art in Temperate Europe, although I would have expected a bit
more explanation on the genesis of the La Tène style and the different influences involved,
including the appearance of Mediterranean motifs such as palmette forms and lotus flowers.
The following section, ‘The impact of Rome’, is mostly centred on Roman Britain, thereby
having a much more limited geographic focus. In fact, whereas the first two sections aim
to cover the entire Celtic world, sections three–five are mostly restricted to the British Isles.
In section three, the emphasis is on hybridisation, cultural interaction and the development
of a Romano-British culture, rightly emphasising that being Roman in Britain was very
different from living in Rome. Local styles of Celtic art were used to decorate Roman-style
artefacts. The sample of objects shown in this section is rather limited in number, but it
includes—among other elements—several coins and decorated mirrors, brooches, a Roman
helmet with Celtic motifs, and some epigraphic evidence for Romano-British deities. The
exhibition further, and rightly, integrates Scotland and Ireland into the picture, showing
how people’s lives in these territories were transformed by Roman contact, despite being
outside the political boundaries of the Empire.

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Debate

Figure 3. Double-faced sandstone sculpture from Holzgerlingen (500–400 BC) at the beginning of section two, ‘The first
Celts’, height 2.3m; Wüttembergisches Landesmuseum, Stuttgart; 
C The Trustees of the British Museum.


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With section four—‘A new Christian

world’— we move into the early medieval
period. The main focus is on the local
forms of worship that developed in the
territories of the Atlantic fringe and the
incorporation of pre-Christian styles and
traditions. Important finds include a Pictish
silver hoard, an inscribed stone from
Wales (with Ogam script), some richly
decorated brooches and crosses and an
elaborately illustrated gospel book. A clear
Figure 4. The Snettisham Great Torc (100–50 BC); gold- distinction is drawn between the Celtic-
silver alloy; 
C The Trustees of the British Museum.
speaking populations of Ireland, as well as
northern and western Britain, and their Germanic-speaking Anglo-Saxon neighbours. The
exhibition text does, however, properly acknowledge that the former never called themselves
‘Celts’.
This last point directly connects to the following section, the ‘Celtic Revival’, which
constitutes the largest part of the exhibition after the Iron Age section on ‘The first Celts’.
During the Renaissance, the meaning of the word Celtic was reinvented to refer to the
languages, peoples and traditions of Ireland, and of northern and western Britain, regions
where it had never been applied before. The label Celtic acquired a new political significance,
leading to the development of the concept of ‘Celtic nations’ in the Atlantic fringe. The
exhibition incorporates a representative selection of different creations in art and literature
related to the ‘Celtomania’ of the eighteenth, nineteenth and even early twentieth centuries
(Figure 5).
Finally, the sixth and last section discusses the controversial topic of ‘Being Celtic today’.
It acknowledges the powerful meaning that the notion of a shared Celtic heritage has
among people of the so-called Celtic nations and members of the diaspora, but also the
broader significance of the Celts in global popular culture, from Asterix to spirituality
movements. Again, the exhibition provides a rigorous approach that takes into account
different sensitivities.
The exhibition is followed by the inevitable shop, which here shows an interesting
mix between scholarly publications and rather weird items of ‘popular Celticism’, such
as books on ‘Celtic mandalas’ or ‘Celtic art therapy’. This may send contradictory
messages to visitors, but it also reflects the reality of popular perceptions about the
Celts.
Overall, the exhibition manages masterly to build bridges between new academic trends
and widespread popular perceptions (and misunderstandings). Lighting is perfect, texts
have the ideal length and are presented in nice display panels, the information is accurate
and the sections and objects well chosen. Visitors will not only enjoy looking at the vast
array of fabulous art objects, they will also learn about the changing meanings of the
term ‘Celts’ and how it has been used and redefined over time. The exhibition certainly
acknowledges the main points of ‘New Celticism’, challenging some of the preconceptions
traditionally associated with the Celts, but it does so in a balanced and easily comprehensible

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Figure 5. The druids: bringing in the mistletoe by George Henry and Edward Atkinson Hornel (1890); 
C CSG CIC

Glasgow Museums Collection.

way, presenting a ‘middle ground’ between diversity and heterogeneity, regionality and
connectivity. This is a must-see exhibition that will continue on to Edinburgh, doubtless
with a Scottish flavour.

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Oberösterreich 31). Linz: Oberösterreichisches
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