Over 1,000 motifs reprinted from a rare book of design first published in France in 1870. Ornate Cyrillic and Greek letters, corners, borders, page heads, and more as they appeared in illuminated Russian manuscripts.

The decorative arts of the Middle Ages — richly ornate, filled with religious and mythic symbolism — were especially remarkable for the complexities of their design and their inspired craftsmanship. This fascinating volume presents nearly 1,000 illustrations of medieval ornament, consisting mostly of architectural elements from German Romanesque and Gothic churches and other buildings. Originally compiled by the German architect, painter, and engraver Karl Alexander von Heldeloff (1788–1865) as a source of study and inspiration for practicing artists and architects, this grand pictorial archive has been exactingly reproduced from a rare original edition, complete with new English translations of the German captions. The book is filled with precisely detailed engravings of doors, windows, decorative stonework, columns, pedestals, and more. It remains a richly varied resource of authentic images of medieval ornament, ideal for students of architecture and the decorative arts and essential for graphic artists and designers in search of royalty-free illustrations.

Hundreds of plant species — from lilies, lichens, and palms to mushrooms, mosses, and maples — supplemented by appendices on edible plants, medicinal herbs, and plants used in decoration and in graphic design. Indispensable source of inspiration and royalty-free graphics for designers and artists; a captivating compendium for botanists, gardeners, and collectors of old engravings.

Remarkably detailed illustrations depict Adam and Eve Driven Out of the Garden of Eden, The Flood, David Slaying Goliath, Christ in the Manger, The Raising of Lazarus, The Crucifixion, and many other scenes. A wonderful pictorial dimension to age-old stories. All 230 plates from the classic 1625 edition.

This magnificent design treasury reproduces over 400 historic designs that embellish objects, manuscripts, monuments and buildings created in Britain from the 5th to the 14th centuries. Ranging from simple to sophisticated, the designs have been meticulously translated into highly decorative copyright-free line drawings by illustrator Eva Wilson. Artists and craftspeople will find this book a fertile source of design inspiration from a decorative-arts tradition of dazzling virtuosity, reflecting the rich intermingling of Roman, Anglo-Saxon, Celtic, Germanic, Viking and other early aesthetic influences. Drawn chiefly from artifacts in the collections of various British museums and libraries, the selection includes: A gold buckle from the royal burial site at Sutton Hoo in Suffolk, Spiral scroll patterns from the Lindisfarne Gospels, Decorated letters from 7th-century manuscripts, Borders from the Book of Durrow, Designs from stone sculpture of the Viking Age, Embroidered designs from the Bayeux Tapestry, Chessmen from the Isle of Lewis, 13th- and 14th-century patterned floor tiles, ... and much more. This important, extensively researched sourcebook explores the historical background of the designs, and presents the patterns and motifs arranged thematically, demonstrating in detail how similar elements combine to produce a design as intricate as a decorated initial or as simple as a filled square or ornamental border. Here, then, is a comprehensive treasury of authentic, ready-to-use motifs that will lend medieval flair and flavor to almost any art or crafts project.

Inside Christian churches, natural light has been harnessed to underscore theological, symbolic, and ideological statements. This volume explores how the study of sunlight can reveal aspects of the design, decoration, and function of sacred spaces in the Middle Ages.