A Decorated Iron Age Copper Alloy Knife from Hertfordshire

One of the objects on display in the ‘Celtic Iron Age’ gallery of the British Museum is so small that in fact it may not be immediately appreciated for what it is – a cast bronze knife with exquisite curvilinear decoration which measures a mere 11omm in length (figs Ia−b2a−c).To date only the briefest of descriptions of the knife have appeared in print accompanied by illustrations which, it must be said, hardly do it justice.2 Thus, some further notes may be added to draw further attention to one of the miniature insular masterpieces of what, despite the best efforts of many, is still widely termed ‘early Celtic art’.