A Late Hallstatt bird’s head brooch from the Museum at Slaný (central Bohemia)

Abstract

The article uses as yet unpublished Late Hallstatt brooch from Bohemia to create an overview of knowledge on bird’s head brooches from this period, their general context, dating and relationships with related Early La Tène forms. According to current information on the state of research, this is a category of brooches whose origin can best be traced to northern Italy at the beginning of the 5th century BC. The use of coral, a material connected with the Celtic notion of life, and the depiction of water fowl connected with the concept of cyclical alternation, confirm the symbolic meaning of the artefact.