The Art of the Celts: Origins, History, Culture

If you are looking for a basic survey in pictures of Celtic artwork and archaeology, this is a great addition to your library. The book contains a large selection of pictures of helmets, swords, broaches, etc. from pagan times, as well as a good survey of book art, reliquaries, crosses, and other art from Christian times. The pictures are excellent and numerous, and help one appreciate a lot of the analysis in other works. The analysis is not so good. I was able to catch a number of errors relating to Gaulish iconography. For example, it isn't quite true that Curnunnos is the only Celtic god identified by inscription. On the Christian side, I thought that Zaczec oversimplified the development of Celtic art and largely overlooking probable foreign influences. A much better work, analytically, was J. Romilly Allen's 1904 work "Celtic Art in Pagan and Christian Times" and it is quite complimentary to this work in the sense that it has few illustrations (all black and white) and has great analysis (though some elements of that work are somewhat dated). All in all, I think it is a book worth having for people interested in the subject.

The photos in this book alone are worth the price. Many of the artifacts shown are seen in many other books about the Celts but they are of a better quality and seem to be lit somewhat differently than the pictures we usually see of these artifacts. The text is brief but good. I have a few small quibbles with a few of the facts presented but in truth that would be an unfair criticism as their is only so much that can be included in the summery like chapters. The space given really does not give the author the room for some of the debates in Celtic studies. So taken that way he gives an excellent presentation for the little room he is given. Recommended