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Staffordshire Hoard, comparative study
Sep. 28th, 2009 10:00 amA new Anglo-Saxon gold hoard has been found, said to rival or even outstrip Sutton Hoo in terms of importance. Gallery here.
One of the showpieces is a gold band inscribed with a Biblical verse in Latin. You can see that the letters are etched to give them a somewhat calligraphic outline, the artifacts of penmanship being reproduced - with some effort - by a metal stylus.
That, along with the golden eagle or raven that's another object in the hoard, has put me in mind to do some side-by-side comparisons of decorative motifs in Anglo-Saxon art. How are these metal and enameled birds alike and different from the embroidered ones in the Bayoux Tapestry? How close is the faux calligraphy to the real thing? Can we compare the depiction of the human face and form in carvings, illuminations, embroidery?
Because of the vagaries of survival, it's a fairly common practice in the SCA to use motifs from one art form as decorative inspirations in another. It would be interesting to see if examples could be gathered to support this practice.
One of the showpieces is a gold band inscribed with a Biblical verse in Latin. You can see that the letters are etched to give them a somewhat calligraphic outline, the artifacts of penmanship being reproduced - with some effort - by a metal stylus.
That, along with the golden eagle or raven that's another object in the hoard, has put me in mind to do some side-by-side comparisons of decorative motifs in Anglo-Saxon art. How are these metal and enameled birds alike and different from the embroidered ones in the Bayoux Tapestry? How close is the faux calligraphy to the real thing? Can we compare the depiction of the human face and form in carvings, illuminations, embroidery?
Because of the vagaries of survival, it's a fairly common practice in the SCA to use motifs from one art form as decorative inspirations in another. It would be interesting to see if examples could be gathered to support this practice.
