Re: Celtic body art?

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Posted by Phoenix and Arabeth on January 22, 1998 at 02:22:19:

In Reply to: Celtic body art? posted by Lise Anderson/Andalusia on January 20, 1998 at 14:39:39:

Well this is a fun subject. Most people think of the
elaborate interlocking knotwork of Irish art as "Celtic" today.
However, this was almost entirely developed by Irish Christian
monks to illuminate holy manuscripts from ca. 700 AD on.
Of course, at this point nudity, tattooing and body-painting
would have been forbidden by the Catholic Church and
largely disappeared.

What would be authentic Celtic art that was what most
assuredly what Caesar and other Roman authors saw on
the bodies of the Celtic and Gaulish warriors was the
more ancient form known as "La Tene" style, named by
archeologists after a site in France where this type of art
was first discovered. There are many examples from the
British Isles as well. It is very curvilinear, with
plenty of spirals, but no knotwork. It tends to have
a fair amount of large solids in it, and has something
of the feel of the yin-yang symbol graphically speaking.
You have to dig for this stuff, but there is a little
of it in many Celtic knotwork artbooks (seeGeo. Baine),
and there are at least one or two books devoted to this
ancient pre-Christian era of Celtic art.

In practical terms (having done the northern California
Rennaisance Faire where 7 artists applied henna to
about 2500 eager customers last summer, and British/Celtic
design is very popular) we found that the ancient
triple spiral symbol was very popular and easly to do.
Also a running spiral (aka "Greek/Minoan waves") gives
a very Celtic feel for a bracelet or arm band.
Triple spiral and running spiral combined for a very
strong armband. This well satisfied most peoples'
expectations of a "Celtic" henna design.

We practice henna as a stricly immediate, freehand medium
without using patterns. This makes the comples geometry
of Celtic knotwork very difficult to pull off. The
one thing we used fairly successfully is the endless
knot of Tibetan Buddhism (one of the 8 auspicious
symbols) which most people see and accept as Celtic.
And indeed there is a connection between these 2 widely
separated peoples from very ancient times (1-2,000 BC)
but that is another story.

Follow-ups:

Re: Celtic body art? Stu Douglas 22:04:47 9/16/99 (2)
- Re: Celtic body art? SNOOPY 17:42:10 2/13/01 (0)
- tribal peices bobby , little 07:30:25 1/01/01 (0)
Re: Celtic body art? FREAK#2 01:22:53 7/27/99 (1)
- Re: Celtic body art? heinz 20:04:07 9/24/99 (0)
Re: Celtic body art? Lise Anderson/Andalusia 21:12:16 1/26/98 (0)

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Comments:
: Well this is a fun subject. Most people think of the : elaborate interlocking knotwork of Irish art as "Celtic" today. : However, this was almost entirely developed by Irish Christian : monks to illuminate holy manuscripts from ca. 700 AD on. : Of course, at this point nudity, tattooing and body-painting : would have been forbidden by the Catholic Church and : largely disappeared. : What would be authentic Celtic art that was what most : assuredly what Caesar and other Roman authors saw on : the bodies of the Celtic and Gaulish warriors was the : more ancient form known as "La Tene" style, named by : archeologists after a site in France where this type of art : was first discovered. There are many examples from the : British Isles as well. It is very curvilinear, with : plenty of spirals, but no knotwork. It tends to have : a fair amount of large solids in it, and has something : of the feel of the yin-yang symbol graphically speaking. : You have to dig for this stuff, but there is a little : of it in many Celtic knotwork artbooks (seeGeo. Baine), : and there are at least one or two books devoted to this : ancient pre-Christian era of Celtic art. : In practical terms (having done the northern California : Rennaisance Faire where 7 artists applied henna to : about 2500 eager customers last summer, and British/Celtic : design is very popular) we found that the ancient : triple spiral symbol was very popular and easly to do. : Also a running spiral (aka "Greek/Minoan waves") gives : a very Celtic feel for a bracelet or arm band. : Triple spiral and running spiral combined for a very : strong armband. This well satisfied most peoples' : expectations of a "Celtic" henna design. : We practice henna as a stricly immediate, freehand medium : without using patterns. This makes the comples geometry : of Celtic knotwork very difficult to pull off. The : one thing we used fairly successfully is the endless : knot of Tibetan Buddhism (one of the 8 auspicious : symbols) which most people see and accept as Celtic. : And indeed there is a connection between these 2 widely : separated peoples from very ancient times (1-2,000 BC) : but that is another story.

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