Celtic Design: Maze Patterns

The brilliant, beautiful designs, decorations and patterns of the Celts - expressed in their metalwork, stonework and jewellery, 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 many centuries right through to the present day. The versatile power of these ornamental designs, and hence their use as a source of inspiration for designers and craftspeople of all kinds, is revealed to the full in this step-by-step guide. Celtic mazes belong to an ancient class of spiral ornament which Celtic artists of the early middle ages developed with unequalled ingenuity and virtuosity. These patterns can even be drawn freehand following the method described here - a technique used by the ancient masters, now rediscovered and clearly illustrated for the first time. The beauty and simplicity of the designs makes them an ideal introduction to Celtic art, comprising delightful calligraphy and illumination which everyone can produce for themselves.