La Tène style

The La Tena was an era, in the time where the Celtic people expanded and migrated also it was a time where myths where forming. The La Tena era started at around C 500 BC and ended in C 15 BC. The La Tena culture gets its name from a site in Switzerland where many objects with this style of decorating where first found. The La Tene culture spread rapidly and invaded a wide range of countries. The La Tene culture had a more military mind set than the Hallstatt, their graves which where across Europe held weapons which included swords, spear heads and wooden shields also they included normal items such as jewellery and razors. The La Tene style was influenced by foreign cultures, it was a mesh of style inspired by motifs form Greeks, Scythian art and many more which were imported. The style in which is created is made up of curvilinear art, which has a lot of plants incorporated into the art such as vines, leafs and flower, also include stylized faces, even thou it was inspired by different countries La Tene style had a distinctive style. There art includes personal ornaments and possessions which display warfare, most of the high quality pieces we find today where found either in graves or in the ground. Rivers also held a vast quantity of Celtic remains which include weapons and artwork.  

This shield is The Witham Shield, it dates back to the iron age, 400-300 BC and was found in the river Witham in England, hence its name. This shield is incomplete as it is missing the wooden back which would be attached to the shield's decorative front. This shield is unique in a sense that as a form of decoration, the shield has pieces of red coral form the Mediterranean, this is quite rare as red glass is normally used on shields.

This shield is calles The Battersea Shield it dates back to 350-50 BC and was found in the Thames river in England. This shield was not made to be used in battle as the built of the shield was weak and to short to be used for protection. Instead this shield was used show and sacrifice. It was made up of polished bronze and red glass.

These are Basse Yutz Flagons which where found in France  in 1927 and they date back to about 450 BC. These Flagons are made out of bronze and copy the shape that was used in Italy  these flagons are used for pouring liquids during feasts. The Flagons also has precious coral inlaid inside which now faded to white but used to be red. 

This is River Thames spearhead which was found in the Thames River in England where the spearhead gets its name, it dates back to the iron age, 200-50 BC. This is a highly decorative piece made out of iron with bronze strips engraved into the spear head. The spearhead was made for ceremonial use and could not be used for battle or hunting.

This shield is called the Chertsey Shield it dates back to the iron age, 400-200 BC. It was found in Chertsey, England from which it gets it's name. This shield is made entirely out of bronze which is rare in the findings we found in Europe, as normally the shield is made by metal which is fitted onto wood. This shield is made out of nine different types of bronze and  has a oval shape which is the  common shape for a shield in that time. Thou this shield is well made and would have taken great skill and a long time to make, it was not used in battle as it would have broken easily, in stead it is most likely used for showing of

Bibliography. 

 British Museum - The Witham Shield . 2013. British Museum - The Witham Shield . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/t/the_witham_shield.aspx. [Accessed 13 May 2013].

British Museum - The Battersea Shield . 2013. British Museum - The Battersea Shield . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/t/the_battersea_shield.aspx. [Accessed 13 May 2013].

British Museum - Early Celtic or La Tène art . 2013. British Museum - Early Celtic or La Tène art . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/articles/e/early_celtic_or_la_t%C3%A8ne_art.aspx. [Accessed 13 May 2013].

 British Museum - Basse Yutz Flagons . 2013. British Museum - Basse Yutz Flagons . [ONLINE] Available at:http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/pe_prb/b/basse_yutz_flagons.aspx. [Accessed 13 May 2013].