In the recent era, there has been a revival of interest in Celtic arts. Many artists have worked with the themes drawn from ancient or Medieval Celtic art and have been inspired by Celtic literary themes. Some of this work has remained very close to the style of original Iron Age Celtic artwork, but much of it has a distinctly new feel. Historically, Celtic art emerged as an identifiable tradition around 600 BC, flourishing until the mid-1st century AD.

The Celtic peoples forged the first civilization north of the Alps. From smiths in the late Bronze and Early Iron age to the early Christian era, a wealth of objects were produced that changed the course of history. Some of these include the first chain mail armor, iron-rimmed wheels, and the iron plowshare. The Celts also gave shape to chisels and saws, tin snips, and hammers and were the first to put iron shoes on horses. Mastery over metal was a hallmark of Celtic civilization.