RARE DRUID (CELTIC) VOTIVE, 300 BC-100 AD

Circular bronze, 2 ¼” diameter, 2 ½” greatest dimension with roped motif to the outer edge and divided into three segments by triple ball or pellet clusters. One of the segments with an additional raised elongated segment. Fine patina with wear from handling. Druids were the religious, intellectual and philosophical leaders of Celtic culture in France, England, Ireland and Scotland. They were associated with the sacred oak forest and the word Druid translates to “finder of the oak forest”. They were the practitioners of Celtic pagan religion which included human sacrifice. Victims included criminals by preference and innocents as the situation allowed. Death was by a variety of causes (hanging, poison, drowning, burning) and sometimes by a combination, known as threefold death to appease the three main Celtic Gods, Teutates, Esus and Taranis. This votive is related to the prosperity rings which were displayed and used as a means of exchange, which occasionally incorporate these same projections. This example is double the size. Its obvious wear from handling suggests involvement in many spiritual rituals such as human sacrifice at the hands of the Druids.