Celtic Design

by Aidan Meehan

Book Overview

The oldest and most characteristically Celtic type of design, spiral patterns illustrate vividly the continuity between pagan and Christian Celtic art. Spirals are a constant presence, from the art of Late Stone Age Central Europe, through megalithic temple sculptures, the La Tene bronzes of the Gauls and Britons, and Pictish jewels, to the marvellous system of Celtic art's golden age in the early middle ages. Aidan Meehan gives detailed practical...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0500277052
• ISBN13: 9780500277058
• Release Date: May 1993
• Publisher: Thames & Hudson
• Length: 160 Pages
• Weight: 0.81 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.7" x 8.4"

Customer Reviews

More good source material

The book's about 1/4 running and infill designs, 1/2 medallion, and 1/4 history of spiral design. Useful stuff, and powerful in an ancient way. The work I've carved based on this material sold the first time out.

An excellent book for those interested in Celtic Designs.

This is an excellent book for those looking to create celtic designs.This book teaches about the prehistoric spiral, the megalithic spiral then goes through early & middle celtic spirals. It then follows into the insular and golden age spirals.The book is best used when accompianied by Aidan's other Celtic Design books. I have 7 of the books in this series and love them all!All in all this is a great book for someone looking to create celtic designs.

History and construction of Celtic Sprial Patterns

Meehan is not only the most proflific writer of celtic pattern books, but one of my favorite to read. A warning here, these are fairly serious books for people that are truly caught by the art of the Celts and wish to know more about it. These are not clip art books nor stencils. Meehan does a beautiful job of joining historical information and the construction. In reading books you know that he loves this subject. His books are full of tantalizing hints into another world that throws around terms like 'the Waldalgesheim pattern'. Which he does explain, but leaves one with the desire to run out and find a book specific to that subject and learn more. Short of doing what I suspect might be doctoral work on the subject, reading Meehan's books are the way to go. He also has a useful appendix of terms in the back. My favorites in this book however are the discussion on the triskele, the triple sprial patterns, which are not considered knotwork per se, and are therefore not to be found in the standard books on knotwork. This book also covers some of the more freeform curving designs that do not come under the knotwork category. Well worth the read.