From the recovery after the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s to the booming Celtic Tiger of the 1990s, a revival of the ancient traditions of Celtic jewelry have become a part of how the Irish, as well as the Scots, Welsh and other Celts have expressed their cultural identity. Usually the story of this tradition focuses on very old prototypes, the museum pieces turned up by archaeologists or the legend of the original Claddagh ring. In our imagination, we connect the popular Celtic jewelry of today with the distant past. But that link with the ancient style was very much influenced by what others had done in more recent history. The story of is told by four authors. Tara Kelly writes of the early Celtic Revival manufacture of facsimiles of medieval Irish metalwork in Victorian Dublin and how the success of that enterprise lead to historical Celtic jewellery to become iconic symbols of Irish identity. Mairi MacArthur tells the story of Alexander and Euphemia Ritchie who created the foundation for modern Scottish Celtic jewellery on the Isle of Iona in the early 20th century. Aidan Breen, himself a pioneer of the late 20th century Celtic Renaissance, recalls his career beginning with an apprenticeship with Dublin silversmiths which trained him in the traditions of the older Celtic Revival. Stephen Walker, craftsman and collector, brings the story together as it spans 150 years, from Scottish pebble jewellery to the innovative modern Celtic creations of the Arts and Crafts Movement. 69 color photographs and 29 black and white illustrations.

On a dark night in the Danish harbour of Dragor, Ulf is handed a logbook by a lone sailor who then disappears. The bizarre events recorded in the log lead to a harrowing winter crossing of the North Sea.

Jewellery is one of the oldest forms of decorative art: its history can be traced from the earliest known civilizations in Mesopotamia and Egypt. This book reveals the varied styles, techniques and materials which have delighted men and women through the ages, all over the world. From Egyptian necklaces to Celtic torcs, and from Renaissance pendants to Art Nouveau buckles,7000 years of jewellery design and production are illustrated in this book.

This unique volume clearly demonstrates simple geometric techniques for making intricate knots, interlacements, spirals, Kellstype initials, human and animal figures in distinctive Celtic style. Features over 500 illustrations.

Shortlisted for the History Book Award in Scotland's National Book Awards, 2023 During the long 19th century, Scotland was home to an established body of skilled jewellers who were able to access a range of materials from the country's varied natural landscape: precious gold and silver; sparkling crystals and colourful stones; freshwater pearls, shells and parts of rare animals. Following these materials on their journey from hill and shore, across the jeweller's bench and on to the bodies of wearers, this book challenges the persistent notion that the forces of industrialisation led to the decline of craft. It instead reveals a vivid picture of skilled producers who were driving new and revived areas of hand skill, and who were key to fostering a focused cultural engagement with the natural world – among both producers and consumers – through the things they made. By placing producers and their skill in cultural context, the book reveals how examining the materiality of even the smallest of objects can offer new and multifaceted insights into the wider transformations that marked British history during the long 19th century. Uniting a vast array of jewellery objects with a range of other sources – including paintings, engravings, newspaper reports, letters, inventories of big houses and small workshops, sketchbooks, novels, works of literary geology and early travel writings – this book provides a deep dive into the cultural history of jewellery production through accessible thematic studies. In doing so, it sets out innovative methodologies for writing about the histories of craft production, the natural environment and the material world. Now available in a paperback edition, it will be an important addition to the bookshelf of cultural historians and those interested in Scotland's wild landscapes and natural objects.

An engagingly written and thoroughly researched book based on accurate historical information that guides readers in their quest for spiritual growth, learning the specifics of spellwork, meditation, invocation and divination. Includes an annotated bibliography.