19 in. (48.2 cm.) high

Rupert E. Beckett (1870-1955), Chapel Allerton and London.
Private Collection, Chapel Allerton, gifted from the above.
with Karsten Schubert and Rupert Wace Ancient Art, London, 1989 (Celtic Stone Sculptures, no. 3).
with Michael Ward, New York.
Acquired by the current owner from the above, 1991.

S. Jackson, Celtic and Other Stone Heads, London, 1973, p. 16, no. 23.

Conditions of Sale
FAQs
This lot is offered by Christie's Inc

Brought to you by

Lot Essay

While the precise function of these busts is unknown, it is probable that they were used in a votive setting. The mortice at the crown of the head may have held libations. As C.T. Little notes (p. 175 in Set in Stone: The Face in Medieval Sculpture), “The veneration of the human head was rooted in the Celtic religious system, which regarded the head as the seat of the soul…and as capable of independent being.” For related heads, see nos. 70-72 in Little, op. cit.