C. 600 BC, Bronze Age. Large bronze cage pendant. The pendant's openwork biconical shape is formed of a combination straight and curved bars of bronze, some with incised linear decoration. Such pendants may originally have belonged to precursors of the Druids. A Druid (Celtic: “Knowing [or Finding] the Oak Tree”) was a member of the learned class among the ancient Celts. They seem to have frequented oak forests and acted as priests, teachers, and judges. The earliest written testimony of the Druids comes from the 3rd century BC but they probably originated much earlier as this late dating reflects the point at which the literate Greek-speaking societies of the Mediterranean came into contact with the Celts of Northern Europe. Good condition; Size: L:67mm / W:29.5mm ; 14.1g; Provenance: Obtained from a B.C.F; previously in a collection formed in the 1980s on the UK art market.