Celtic Design
Spirals
Select a page:
Overview
Spirals
Twists and Plaits
Knots
Interlace antecedents
Select a paper
Topics:
Introduction
One-coil spiral
Two-coil spiral
Three-coil spiral
Spiral ornamentation
Spirals for ribbons
Triskele
Pelta
Figures are enlargeable.
Introduction
Text.
Left. Spiral design altar block from the Tarxien Temples of Malta, 31st century BC.
Right. Chinese Neolithic pottery vessel, Majiayao Culture, Banshan Phase, c. 2600-2300 BC, Gansu Cultural Relics and Archaeology Institute.
A spiral may have one rotation or many. The rotation may be to the right or left. Bain, George. Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1973. (p. 61)
One-coil spiral
Instruments may be used for the first lay-out, but the final curvature will be the work of the eye and hand. Bain, George. Celtic Art: The Methods of Construction. New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1973. (p. 61)
A bronze disk from the second century AD found near Derry in Northern Ireland. The curvature of the one-coil spirals inside the three outer circles appears not to have been made using a mathematical formula. (The centers of these spirals are decorated with stylized bird heads.)
Below are two one-coil spirals that can be consistently drawn without a template.
Left. In an Archimedean spiral (named after the Hellenistic Greek mathematician Archimedes), the rotation occurs around a central axis at a constant rate. The spiral is not easy to draw. A mathematical formula (r = a + bΦ) must be used to plot points on a graph.
Right. A one-coil spiral constructed of half-circles also increases at a constant rate. This method of spiral-making was (and still is) used for many Celtic designs.
Construction. The construction of a one-coil spiral using the half-circle method. The dots represent the compass points for the same-color half-circles.
Above. Leaded bronze spiral brooch from Etruria (northern Italy), 7th century BC, Harvard Art Museums.
Two-coil spiral
Text.
Left. The Neolithic triple spiral consists of three connected two-coil spirals.
Right. A triple spiral carved on the entrance stone at Newgrange passage grave, County Meath, Ireland, c. 3200 BC.
Above. A basic two-coil spiral.
Construction. The outer circle, grid and compass points establish the parameters of the spiral. The half-circles can be drawn from the outside in or from the inside out.
Three-coil spiral
Text.
Left. The Hilton of Cadboll stone, c. 800 AD, a Pictish sandstone cross-slab discovered in Easter Ross in the Scottish Highlands.
Right. The three-coil spirals at the bottom of the stone.
Above. A basic three-coil spiral.
Construction. The outer circle is trisected in order to locate points on the spirals. The first coil segments are shown in red, the second segments are shown in blue, and the third in green.
Spiral ornamentation
Text.
Left. Caption.
Right. Caption.
Above. Examples of ornamentation of centers of three-coil spirals. Hull, Derek. Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Art: Geometric Aspects. Liverpool University Press, 2003. (Fig. 4.21, p. 112.) "Beginning with a larger circle will allow for more decoration in the center." Sturrock, Sheila. Celtic Spirals and Other Designs. Guild of Master Craftsman Publications, Ltd., 2001. (p. 20)
Above. Lindisfarne Gospels, "Chi-Rho" monogram at the start of the Gospel of Matthew, c. 700, British Library, London.
Spirals for ribbons
Text.
Two-exit spiral
Left. Minoan Kamares ware jar, 1900 - 1700 BC, Heraklion Museum.
Right. Pictish cross slab, Aberlemmo, Angus, Scotland.
Left and center. Bronze belt plate recovered from a peat bog in Langstrup, North Zealand, Denmark, c. 1400 BC.
Right. A drawing of Egtved Girl's clothing. She was 16 to 18 years old when she was ritually killed and buried in south Jutland, Denmark, c. 1370 BC.
Left. A basic two-exit spiral.
Right. The spiral's construction. Essentially, the lower half of a circle has been shifted one grid unit to the right.
Three-exit spiral
Left. Mycenaean funerary stele made of poros stone, with relief chariot scene, 16th century BC, National Archeological Museum, Athens.
Right. Stone sculpture fragment from a Pictish monastery, 6th to 9th century, Tarbat, Scotland.
Above. A three-exit spiral.
Construction. The outer circle, grid and compass points establish the parameters of the spiral. The half-circles can be drawn from the outside in or from the inside out.
Left. A four-exit spiral.
Construction. The outer circle, grid and compass points establish the parameters of the spiral. The half-circles can be drawn from the outside in or from the inside out.
Triskele
A triskele is a motif consisting of three connected spirals. The Neolithic triple spiral is the prototype. Rotation is implied.
Left. A late Iron Age shield boss decorated with a triskele. It was buried at Tal-y-Llyn in Wales.
Right. Bronze belt buckle (originally gilt), Lagore Crannog, County Meath, 7th - 8th century, National Museum of Ireland, Dublin.
Above. A basic triskele constructed with the two-exit spiral shown above. The two exits make it possible to connect each spiral to the other two spirals. (In the Derry disk, the single coil of each spiral branches to permit two connections.)
Construction. The centers of the spirals, represented by the dots, are an equal distance from a common point and spaced 120° apart (step 1). The spirals are also rotated 120° (step 2) so they can be connected (step 3).
Top. Leopard axe, Knossos, Crete, c. 1600 BC, Cleveland Museum of Art.
Bottom. Mycenaean bronze dagger with gold decoration. 16th century BC, National Archaeological Museum, Athens.
Pelta
"Designs can be plotted with accuracy using the pelta as a template." Sturrock, Sheila. Celtic Spirals and Other Designs. Guild of Master Craftsman Publications, Ltd., 2001. (p. 65)
Left. Iron Age bronze mirror, Desborough, Northamptonshire, c. 50 BC - 50 AD, British Museum.
Right. Anglo-Saxon disc brooch, Pentney hoard, early 9th century, British Museum.
Construction. The steps in constructing a pelta.
Pelta variations
Left. Anglo-Saxon hanging bowl, 6th or 7th century, British Museum.
Right. Anglo-Saxon disc brooch, Teynam, England, early 600s, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Pelta triskele
Above. La Tène copper alloy strap union, Canterbury, Kent, c. 50-150, British Museum.
Construction. Steps in constructing a pelta triskele.
Pelta spirals
Above. Two pelta spirals from the Book of Kells (folio 34r, c. 800, Trinity College, Dublin).
Construction. The steps in constructing a two-coil pelta spiral (yin-yang symbol).
Construction. The steps in constructing a three-coil pelta spiral.
I haven't found examples of the following pelta constructions.
Above. A pelta ribbon.
Construction. Steps in constructing a pelta spiral. Two peltas (the shaded figures) are aligned as shown, and the circular space between them is replaced with a spiral.
Above. A pelta spiral ribbon.