Celtic Design: Animal Patterns

CELTIC DESIGN The brilliant, beautiful designs, decorations and patterns of the Celts - expressed in their metalwork, stonework and jewelry, and continued in the manuscript illumination of Celtic Christianity - are an astonishing art form whose legacy has fascinated both Celtic and non-Celtic peoples for centuries. The versatile power of these ornamental designs, and hence their use as a source of inspiration for designers and craftspeople of all kinds, i revealed to the full in this new series of practical step-by-step guides which together provide the most comprehensive collection of Celtic designs ever published. Animal Patterns The interlaced beasts, birds and serpents of Celtic art were the product of a fusion of European traditions, including those of the Anglo-Saxons and those of the early Celts themselves. Tracing the development of zoomorphic decoration, Aidan Meehan shows how we can re-learn this traditional art language, whose motifs range from griffins to greyhounds. Dynamic and ingenious animal patterns from all over Northern Europe are illustrated, their construction explained in detail, and suggestions made for exciting variations, as we are invited to share in this rediscovery and adaptation of long-forgotten designs. With over 400 illustrations On the cover: Hound-and-Heron Panel detail by Aidan Meehan