CELTIC AND ANGLO-SAXON METALWORK:

THE TARA BROOCH AND THE ALFRED JEWEL

CELTIC METALWORK: THE TARA BROOCH
The Tara Brooch is a Celtic brooch of about 700 AD generally considered to be the most
impressive of over 50 elaborate and ornate Irish brooches to have been discovered. The Tara
brooch is a product of the famous Celtic metalwork.
Celtic metalwork is intricately decorated. Celtic smiths worked in gold, iron, and bronze. The
Celtic aristocrats liked to have nice things on hand to give as gifts to honoured guests, which
would bring great honor to the giver, and they especially liked finely wrought metal.
Celtic men and women wore heavy necklaces of twisted gold, called torques. These became
status symbols, and the gods were also represented as wearing them. Celtic burial sites are full of
decorative pins called fibulae, which are similar in design to the modern safety pin.
Archaeologists have also discovered mirrors, combs, and a beautiful little model boat with oars.
Many of these artifacts are elaborately decorated with the distinctive spirals and interweaving
designs that the Celts are famous for.
Symbols on the brooch:
On the brooch, zoomorphic (animal) symbols depict the heads of wolves and dragons. In Celtic
culture, these animal symbols are used to denote the special characteristics of the animals or
mythical creatures. Traits like strength, wisdom, and magical ability are celebrated in each
carving.
Created as a symbol of power and status (probably for a wealthy Irishman who commissioned its
design), the Tara Brooch is luxurious, and made mostly of silver and gold. Historians believe the
brooch was created around 700 AD.

Despre Tara brooch, informaii i n urmtorul articol:

http://www.celtic-weddingrings.com/the-tara-brooch.aspx
i materialul de mai jos (poz Tara brooch + informaii):

ANGLO-SAXON METALWORK: THE ALFRED

JEWEL

The Alfred Jewel

Among the decorative symbols on Anglo-Saxon metalwork, we may mention the following:
birds, horse heads, interlaced snakes, human faces. In this way, the jewellery became linked to
the identity of its original owner, having personal, amuletic or religious meanings now lost. A
series of jewellery from the 9th to 11th centuries have engraved on them personal names, thus
suggesting intimate links between artefacts and owners.
A good example of Anglo-Saxon metalwork is represented by the Alfred Jewel (discovered in
1693). The Alfred Jewel is a beautiful and intricate piece of work. It consists of a pear-shaped
frame enclosing a piece of rock crystal superimposed on a design made out of cloisonn enamel.
The enamel design, which presents a figure wearing a tunic and holding apparently some
flowers, has been interpreted in different ways: as Christ, the Pope, Alexander the Great or

simply King Alfred himself. The jewel is particularly associated with Alfred because of an
inscription on the frame which reads Alfred had me made.
The object supposedly served as a pointer, used to follow the text in a religious book.
The jewel is a symbol of King Alfreds wish that the society he lived in needed not only good
government, but also learning, which would not be only for clerics but for ordinary people as
well. Alfred was a learned man and he encouraged education. In fact he set up a school at his
court for young nobles to learn to be literate so that they could play their role in the state. This
was a great innovation. Alfred felt this need after the terrible devastation of his country by the
Danes, when all the libraries and places of learning were destroyed. At that point, Alfred
summoned scholars to his court from Wales, France and Ireland and together they set about
translating some of the treasures of ancient Christian literature into Anglo-Saxon. The king
himself translated four books.