Northern British Limestone Celtic Votive Head of a Man
A Northern British Limestone Celtic Votive Head of a Man
2nd – 3rd Century AD
Size: 26.5cm high, 21cm wide, 21.5cm deep – 10½ ins high, 8¼ ins wide, 8½ ins deep / 32cm high – 12½ ins high (including stand)
2nd – 3rd Century AD
Size: 26.5cm high, 21cm wide, 21.5cm deep – 10½ ins high, 8¼ ins wide, 8½ ins deep / 32cm high – 12½ ins high (including stand)
This austere votive head may well represent a local deity and was probably used as part of the Celtic cult of the head where carved stone heads functioned as surrogates for actual decapitated human heads taken in battle. The Celts regarded the head as the seat of the soul and capable of independent being. Its powers protected against evil and were a source of supernatural wisdom. The Celtic veneration of the head laid the foundation for the Christian belief in the head as the locus of the soul, explaining the later reverence for the heads of Saints and their preservation as sacred relics.
Northern British Limestone Celtic Votive Head of a Man
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