Celtic art

views updated May 21 2018

Celtic art Artworks produced by Celts during the prehistoric La Tène period. For convenience, this period is normally subdivided into four periods: Early Style (after c.480 bc); Waldalgesheim style (after c.350 bc); plastic style (after c.290 bc); and Hungarian sword style (after c.190 bc). Its chief characteristic was swirling, abstract design, which found its fullest expression in metalwork and jewellery. The term is sometimes also applied to the La Tène-influenced early Christian art of w Europe, such as the Book of Kells.