Discussion of the origins, influences and transformations of ‘Celtic’ art—temperate Europe's first ‘grand style’—has been at the forefront of Iron Age research since at least the publication of Paul Jacobsthal's seminal work in 1944. In recent years, interest both among scholars and the wider public has intensified. Major contributions of the last few years include monographs (e.g. Garrow & Gosden Reference Garrow and Gosden2012), exhibitions (e.g. in London and Edinburgh; see Fernández-Götz Reference Fernández-Götz2016), conferences (‘Dynamics of art, design and vision in Iron Age Europe’, Edinburgh 2016) and research projects (‘European Celtic art in context: exploring Celtic art and its eastern links’). These initiatives make clear that there is still plenty of scope for ongoing debate. Not only is there a growing corpus of material evidence, but also opportunities for innovative approaches incorporating, for example, cognitive and phenomenological perspectives (e.g. Wells Reference Wells2012).

Yet if there is a milestone that any analysis of Celtic art must still take into account, it is doubtless Ruth and Vincent Megaw's major synthesis Celtic art: from its beginnings to the Book of Kells, first published in 1989, with several re-printings and revised editions. Vincent Megaw, with the inestimable assistance of his wife Ruth, has probably been the most remarkable scholar on the subject since Jacobsthal. His tireless travelling between two hemispheres and within Europe (regardless of the former Iron Curtain) has allowed him to build up an astonishingly wide network of personal contacts and an impressive database on Celtic art. As the editors of the present volume note in their introduction, “Vincent knew everyone, had a story to tell about each and their latest work and results” (p. 1).

This long and ongoing journey (masterfully summarised in an autobiographical Antiquity article; Megaw Reference Megaw2012) is now honoured in the form of a Festschrift that marks Vincent's eightieth birthday. The 37 contributions provide a wide range of insights into the archaeology of Celtic art. One of the main—and most unusual—characteristics of the book is its multilingualism; although most of the papers are in English, we also find four contributions in French and three in German. This diversity of language, and the fact that the contributors are based in academic institutions from 15 different European countries, is a good reflection of Vincent's transnational network.

The overall standard of the contributions is very high, although some papers are brief (3–4 pages, including images and bibliography), and the volume would have benefited from subdivision into sections in order to create stronger thematic connections. Some of the contributions address general topics, such as Felix Müller's attempt to develop a theoretical framework for Celtic art, Laurent Olivier's innovative study of the visual codes of representation, Thomas Stöllner on the mos maiorum of Late Hallstatt/Early La Tène hero graves, Jan Bouzek on the role of mercenaries, and Jody Joy's overview of Celtic art in Roman Britain. Most of the papers, however, deal with specific finds—such as the Schnabelkannen from Basse-Yutz (re-analysed by Otto-Herrman Frey), a necklace from the Saarland studied by Rudolf Echt and a leaf crown helmet from Fiskerton, presented by Andrew Fitzpatrick and Martin Schönfelder—or categories of finds such as human masks, stamped pottery or kantharoi. There are also some historiographical contributions, such as John Collis's article on the ‘Sheffield origins of Celtic art’, which also serves as a beautiful testimony of friendship in the context of more than two decades of debate with the Megaws on the definition of the Celts and the usefulness of the term. An exceptional addition to the volume is a previously unpublished paper by Jacobsthal himself, written around 70 years ago and reproduced here for the first time with an introduction by Katharina Ulmschneider and Sally Crawford.

The bulk of the book focuses on La Tène art, with the exception of John Koch's paper on early evidence for Celtic languages in the West, as well as some contributions incorporating material from the early Roman period, and a paper on the medieval Alfred Jewel. Early medieval art from Scotland and Ireland, however, is not included, and the collection is therefore chronologically more restricted than the Megaws’ (Reference Megaw and Megaw1989) Celtic art.

The volume ends with a laudatio authored by Mansel Spratling, a complete bibliography of all of the publications of Vincent's prolific career, and 60 beautiful colour plates that combine high-quality images of remarkable Iron Age objects, some maps and a few photographs of Vincent and Ruth.

In summary, this important collection represents a well-deserved tribute to Vincent's life-long work, and is mandatory reading for all scholars and students interested in the European Iron Age in general, and Celtic art in particular. And there is much more to come—the Megaws’ long-announced Supplement to Jacobsthal's masterpiece is moving closer to publication. . .