Bronze Age Gold from Wales

The Angels represent a grand presence. They are messengers, bringers of news, good or bad. They serve as a reminder of our mortality with a comforting presence. Terracotta is warm and has associations with the ground. It is ordinary and commonplace and therefore imparts a sense of belonging. This contrasts with the use of gold which carries meaning of high value and status. This work explores the idea of the importance of the ordinary existing alongside with the extraordinary' (Claire Curneen).

Figure group, terracotta, comprising two winged angels standing beside a tree each on its own irregularly modelled base shaped to fit closely together, the left figure (viewer's left) with its right leg against a tree stump, its left arm straight down at its side, its right arm bent at the elbow, its head turned to its left and slightly downwards, the right figure leaning against a tree at its right side, both arms bent at the elbow with the hands nearly meeting, its head turned to its right and slightly downwards, areas of dripped and dipped gold lustre round the feet, on the fingers, faces, wings, on the right figure's lower abdomen, on the branches of the tree.