CIRCA 2ND CENTURY B.C./A.D.

Details

A small Celtic sandstone head of a one-eyed deity
Circa 2nd Century B.C./A.D.
The spherical head with flattened face, one eye carved with a pupil, the other without, with prominent eyebrows, ears, nose and slit-like mouth, curly hair indicated by short incisions
2 3/8 in. (6 cm.) high

Provenance

Found in a field at the Romano-Celtic site of Water Newton (Durobrivae), Cambridgeshire, in 1973.

Lot Essay

The one-eyed deity is usually called Odin or Wodin (from which Wednesday is derived), the ancient Sky Father who, according to one myth, exchanged his eye of intuition for the gift of wisdom. The eye of Odin is an emblem of the sun. Another myth involved Odin hanging himself upon an ash tre to learn the secret of the runes of wisdom. See B. Branston, Gods of the North, London, 1980 (rev. ed.). Also, cf. Christie's, London, 20 May 1981, lot 30 for a Celtic head of a similar one-eyed deity.

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