Open torques with twisted body and buffer terminals

These two metal collars made from intertwined metal rods are torques. They bear witness to the goldsmithing of the La Tène culture in Gaul. This culture, also referred to as the "Second Iron Age," grew in Europe from approximately 480 to 50 BCE. 

Fortuitously discovered near Villers-Cotterêts in 1866, they are among the most significant finds of the 19th century in allowing us to understand Celtic goldsmithing. In the absence of an archaeological context, a typological comparison made it possible to enable dating from the second century before the common era to be put forward. 

These torques were symbols of wealth and power and were in all likelihood ornamental jewellery. They are too rigid to be worn around the neck. 
In antiquity, torques could also be presented to Gaulish deities. They may have adorned the neck or antlers of Cernunnos' deer in a sanctuary associated with this god of nature's cycles, as depicted in a relief on the Pillar of the Boatmen.

Recent observations of these solid gold rings have confirmed the extraordinary technology used to make them. You can see why the talent of the Gaulish goldsmiths fascinated the people who were their contemporaries. 

The first neck ring consists of a thick twisted band made by twisting a cross-shaped bar with chiselled edges in beaded patterns. The neck ring fastens with quadrangular ends that have few equivalents in Celtic jewellery. The twist of the second consists of three interwoven circular-section wires welded together, finishing with buffers made from a single piece. The welded joint between the buffers and the band is concealed under an elegant five-wire twist.