Staffordshire Hoard, comparative study

[telerib]

A 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.

Comments

[beatrixherald.livejournal.com]

Teleri,

Great Idea! Many of the calligraphy books on Knotwork Tackle this topic in introductions. Specifically the connection between metalwork motifs and painted knotwork.


You should be able to find some really good research on this topic with very little digging.

On a side note. I am going to try to take a class in Jewelry Fabrication (when I have enough $$$) so I can learn to reproduce some of those items.

[telerib.livejournal.com]

Good idea! I have a couple of Aiden Meehan's little manuals; I'll start looking there.

I have been wanting to take a jewelry-making class for ages. If you find one that isn't scheduled at noon on Tuesdays and Thursdays (or some similar cubicle-monkey unfriendly time), let me know! Our local "adult continuing education" classes for jewelry always seem to be in the middle of the work day. :p

[beatrixherald.livejournal.com]

Here is a link to the class I want to take. Please note that it costs around $500.



http://www.creativemetalworks.com/p369.html

[telerib.livejournal.com]

Awesome! Thank you! By the time New Baby is old enough I'd feel okay going, maybe I'll have saved up tuition. :)

[luscious-purple.livejournal.com]

Ooh, shiny!

Thanks for posting that! Since so much of what we know about ancient Lithuania and the Baltic lands is through metal grave goods (and not really clothing or pictures of clothing), I have a feeling that I'm going to have to learn how to work with metal at some point. Can't afford the class now, but someday....

[janinas-nest.livejournal.com]

I have several books that document the styles of ornamentation at the time to the design of the Bayeux Tapestry. The intent of these articles is to try to determine which side designed it, but the discussions are totally applicable to this. The upshot was that yes, there are commonalities between the artistic formats.

[telerib.livejournal.com]

If I could make it over for one of the at-homes, could I take some notes from your books?

[janinas-nest.livejournal.com]

Certainly! If I can get my feeble mind to remember, I'll go through them and mark the sections. I have a lot and not all make reference to the art history.