A Celtic coin. Animated. PBR Materials.

Celtic art is generally used by art historians to refer to the art of the La Tène period across Europe, while the Early Medieval art of Britain and Ireland, that is what Celtic art evokes for much of the general public, is called Insular art in art history. Both styles absorbed considerable influences from non-Celtic sources, but retained a preference for geometrical decoration over figurative subjects, which are often extremely stylized when they do appear; narrative scenes only appear under outside influence. Energetic circular forms, triskeles, and spirals are characteristic. Much of the surviving material is in precious metal, which no doubt gives a very unrepresentative picture, but apart from Pictish stones and the Insular high crosses, large monumental sculpture, even with decorative carving, is very rare; possibly it was originally common in wood. Celts were also able to create developed musical instruments such as the carnyces, these famous war trumpets used before the battle to frighten the enemy, as the best-preserved found in Tintignac (Gaul) in 2004 and which were decorated with a boar head or a snakehead.