2. The order of the Irish Art Section
SUN BURNS ICECREAM!
Stone Age, Bronze Age Iron Age
Don’t forget it!!
3. Celtic Origins
• The Celtic people who made their way to Ireland, came from an area called La Tene
near Lake Neuchatel, Switzerland.
• More than likely their arrival was a slow and steady assimilation rather than a
turbulent invasion.
• By the 1st
century BC Ireland had a Celtic culture of some depth and substance
• The La Tene Celts settled into life in Ireland without difficulty and established a
structured/hierarchical society with leaders like chieftains and princes. Much later
Christian story-telling leads us to believe the Celts had many battles and wars here.
• The skill of iron-working had been around for a few centuries at this stage. The Celtic
people continued heating or smelting iron a natural resources in Ireland at the time
and then hammered, forged and shaped it. It was a very strong metal which meant
that weapons for hunting and fighting were much improved. Iron may also have been
used for large vessels for food.
5. Motifs and designs on stone work
and metalwork in the Iron Age
• The La Tene style that developed in Ireland
initially is called Insular La Tene. The style was
decorative and repetitive
• Special emphasis was placed on plant forms
such as the honeysuckle, S-scrolls, leaf and vine
forms, trumpet ends, and spirals
• This inspiration largely from nature, lead to
abstract and curvilinear patterns. The patterns
are said to be symbolic of protective powers or
fertility
• By the 3rd
century BC La Tene art was evident in
Ireland
7. Stonework in the Iron Age
• A number of stone idols and dressed stones have been found
scattered around the Irish countryside that date to the Iron
Age
• The stone idols are visually quite dramatic, while the dressed
stones with their carved designs are certainly aesthetically
pleasing.
• The exact function of the Iron Age stonework is not fully clear.
They dressed stones may have been boundary markers or the
stone idols may have been created by landowners to frighten
off strangers approaching their land.
• Imagine how you would have felt if you came across Boa
Island head after dark!
• Whatever their function these stones demonstrate the artistic
skills of the Celtic people at a time when available materials
would have been minimal
8. Boa Island Head, Fermanagh, this is the female side of the two-
sided figure
There is incised zig-zag decoration between the two heads,
which may represent hair, and both figures have a band or
belt at the base of the torsos
Boa Island Head,
Fermanagh
9. Stone-idols like this one have been called Janus figures. Janus is
the god of beginnings and transitions, also of gates, doors, endings
and time. He is a two-faced god since he looks to the future and the
past
Back of the head
Image shows the size of the
stone head. It rests on a
new base
12. Tandragee Idol, Co. Armagh
The statuette is only about two feet
tall but is powerful, even disturbing. It
is a half-length figure, crudely
sculpted: the mouth is like an open
slot with rounded ends and thick lips.
The nose reaches down to the upper
lip and on each side of the nose
there appears to be a moustache. A
close fitting head-dress or helmet
with thick rim covers the upper part
of the head concealing the eyebrows
of the protruding eyes. At the front of
the head-dress there are two
projections which could be horns, the
figure itself appears clothed in a robe
with short sleeves, reaching to the
elbows: the sleeves seemed to be
trimmed with a cuff, perhaps of thick
fur. The right hand of the figure
grasps the left-hand cuff
13. The Turoe Stone
• One of the finest examples of the
carved stones dating from the Iron
Age
• There are definite similarities
between the designs on this stone
and the designs on bronze and
gold objects from the same period
• The stone is a domed block of
granite, and the decoration is on
the top and sides
• The La Tene decoration consists
of spirals, trumpets and a triskele
motif, and was planned and
executed to have four distinct
sides
• The decoration is created
by cutting away the
negative space with the
design remaining
14. The Castlestrange Stone,
Co. Roscommon
• Another example of a
carved stone from the
Iron Age period
• Decoration not as
vigorous as the Turoe
Stone and has been
incised rather than left in
relief
• As with the Turoe Stone
we are not sure of the
function but more than
likely it marked a
boundary or was used for
ritual purposes
15. Ogham Stones
f
h
f
d
f
d
f
a
j
The more ancient examples are standing
stones, where the script was carved into the
edge of the stone. The text of these
inscriptions is read beginning from the bottom
left-hand side of a stone, continuing upward
along the edge, across the top and down the
right-hand side
Monumental Ogham inscriptions are found in
Ireland and Wales, with a few additional
specimens found in England and Scotland.
They were mainly employed as territorial
markers and memorials (grave stones).
The earliest examples of Ogham Stones dates
to the later Iron Age.
16. Worksheet to test your knowledge on Iron Age Stonework!
List three stone idol heads from the Iron Age
List two dressed stones from the Iron Age
Describe two different techniques used by the La Tene Celts to add decoration to the dressed stones
1.
2.
Draw both the Turoe Stone and the Castlestrange Stone in detail and label your drawings.
Explain your understanding of the term La Tene
Answer this question for homework please, “Discuss and evaluate the style of decoration used in the Iron Age.
In what way/s was it creative? In what way/s was it simplistic?” 3/4s of a page minimum
17. Art trip!
We are going to visit the Castlestrange
Stone in Co. Roscommon. It is one of only
three dressed stones of its type in Ireland,
carved in the La Tene art style.
The trip has been arranged for the 20th
Oct. 2011, please get the permission slip
signed and bring your wellies!
18. Clay figure project linking art history
with practical work
• Produce a preparatory sheet of ideas for a clay figure.
Inspiration can be found in the Iron Age Stone Idols and
dressed stones, as well as the figures on Easter Island, the
terracotta Chinese soldier-figures etc that we discussed
briefly.
• From this create a preliminary sheet detailing what your figure
will look like. Draw the figure in-situ on the preliminary sheet
i.e. in a field, a graveyard, or any dramatic outdoor setting you
think is suitable.
• Create a clay figure based on the Stone Idols from the Iron
Age.
• Integrate a sinuous, leaf and vine/honeysuckle-inspired
design into your plan for your Idol and
• Include the cut-away technique or the incision technique when
adding detail to your figure.
