a celtic mother-goddess nursing one, or sometimes two, infants, is one of the most popular central gaulish types, though venus was also very frequently represented in gaul. the mother-goddess figurines are shown seated in high-backed basketwork chairs that seem to have been typical of gaul and britain. figurines from the allier valley and cologne sources sometimes bear the signatures of modellers and/or mouldmakers. as in the case of the gaulish samian industries, the makers' names and the styles and themes all illustrate the fusion of local and mediterranean traditions.