Irish Carved Ornament from Monuments of the Christian Period.
Author: CRAWFORD, Henry S.
Dublin: Mercier Press, 1980 (reprint). 80pp + plates. Illustrated. Paperback.
Celtic ornamentation is remarkable for the apparent ease with which it could be adapted to embellish the stone monuments, the vellum manuscripts and the silver and gold of chalices, shrines and croziers of the early Christian period: a period that produced world-famous masterpieces like The Book of Kells, the Ardagh Chalice and the Cross of Cong. In this classic work Henry Crawford describes in derail the ornamentation of stone monuments of this period, reproducing in the book some 300 illustrations of this form of decoration, which had its origin in the Celtic, pre-Christian period. His photographic ‘restorations’ of badly weathered stones are unique. Although there have been enormous technological advances in photography and reproduction since it was originally published, Crawford’s work stands as a testimony to his patient dedication to creating the right natural lighting conditions to display the beauty and clarity of these precious works of art.
This book was first published in 1926 by the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland under the title Handbook of Carved Ornament from Irish Monuments of the Christian Period. It was reissued by Mercier Press in 1980 under the title Irish Carved Ornament.
ISBN: 0853426325