Viking Designs (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Book Description

Over 175 dynamic, royalty-free motifs — in a wide range of styles — taken from the metalwork, woodwork, textiles, carving, and ceramics of the Viking homelands. Sinuously intertwined patterns, mythological animals, dragon-slaying heroes on horseback, and many more. Now available in this inexpensive volume, these authentic images will provide endless inspiration.

Customer Reviews:

Reference Work.......2006-03-21

I bought this book as a source of inspiration for tattoos with a Norse cultural feel. It provided that and more. With hundreds of illustrations sourced from real life examples (rune stones, sword guards, jewellery etc) and from multiple developmental stages in "Norse" artwork, it provides an easy to use reference for those wishing to explore their Norse heritage. Well worthwhile for those Asatruar or re-enactors looking for real life examples to base their craft or tattoo work on.

Should have known better.......2004-01-24

I was very disapointed with this book. But I should have known, Dover Publications tends to produce shoddy material. I was not impressed with the quality of the art work. I expected to see clearer designs. It looked to me like they let a five year old trace some pictures from a history book.
All though it is from a different culture I would recomend Celtic Designs by Chris Down. The artwork is amazingly clear and very reproducable! If you see this book then you will know exactly why Viking Designs is such a let down!

Good Art and Well Sourced.......2004-01-21

This book was everything I wanted it to be. The artwork is clear Black and White linework, with notations on each page about where the design came from and what it was used on. I would recommend this to anyone interested in Historical Reproductions.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful patterns, beautiful book.
My Favorite Book of Needlepoint Patterns
Excellent source of medieval designs; knowledgeable designer
Beautiful and fun designs

Flowers, Birds, and Unicorns
Candace Bahouth
Manufacturer: Harry N. Abrams
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Similar Items:

The Ehrman Needlepoint Book
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ASIN: 0810933160

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful patterns, beautiful book........2005-05-31

This hardcover book is remarkably well put-together, looking almost like a coffee-table book and not a pattern omnibus at all. Inside there are lush patterns with flavor text about how the author thought up the project and historical notes about why she chose this or that positioning or border.

The patterns are simple and easy to make, though it does make me crazy that the author doesn't include patterns for all pieces depicted -- I wonder if these were included as teasers to make readers seek and purchase additional patterns. Many of these neglected patterns were ones I'd dearly love to make, but there's lots of other stuff here for embroiderers. The lion tapestry, in particular, is graceful and looks genuine for its period, and I adore her unicorn even if what she came out with as a pattern bears next to no relation to the "inspiration" she says she used. Her fleur-de-lys pattern, as well, is magnificent and would make a splendid seat cushion (a project which she actually recommends), floor mat, or hanging -- definitely suggest to readers.

Overall I'm very happy I got this book and would recommend it, especially as a gift, for any embroiderer, especially for those who enjoy fantasy or medieval-style patterns.

My Favorite Book of Needlepoint Patterns.......2004-03-12

If you love to do needlepoint, this is a wonderful book to have. I've done several projects using DMC wool, and they all turned out beautifully. I always work on 10 point penelope (double thread) brown canvas, just because I find it turns out so nicely.

If you've never done needlepoint before, I think it's one of the easiest of the needle crafts, it just takes a bit of practice to master. I find working from a book like this one much better than a kit, because you can choose your fabric and wool, and you don't have to worry about a slightly off set pattern printed on the canvas. Though if you're a beginner, you may want to start with a simple kit to get the hang of it. This book does have a how-to section that discusses technique, materials and how to finish each project.

Most of the patterns in this book are based on medieval tapestries. I did the lion and the unicorn, making both into pillows that look beautiful together on my couch. They work wonders on adding a touch of elegance to any room. One issue I had about this book is that it shows a lot of projects that it doesn't have patterns for, and I haven't yet found those patterns, though I've seen kits. For instance, there are really neat little Zodiac patterns, but only four signs of the Zodiac signs are included.

My only other complaint is the mottled colors used in the patterns made it hard to distinguish between two of the colors on one pattern, but the projects are beautiful, and this wasn't a general problem throughout the book.

Getting supplies for needlepoint can also be difficult. There is a conversion chart in the back, however, that works well. I used DMC wool rather than the Appleton that was suggested, since it was all I could get. Though there were a few instances of colors no longer existing or being too close a match to another color in the pattern, it was easy enough to substitute.

I have several books of needlepoint patterns, and this one is by far my favorite. Some other good needlepoint books with patterns are "Graham Rust's Needlepoint Designs," "The Ehrman Needlepoint Book" and "Beth Russell's William Morris Needlepoint."

Excellent source of medieval designs; knowledgeable designer.......1999-06-09

Bahouth's sense of color and composition are outstanding, and her knowledge of the period make the designs not only beautiful but true. Charts are clear, and color numbers are given for both Appleton and Paternayan wool, depending upon what a stitcher has available.

My one criticism of the book, and the only reason why I didn't give it 5 stars, is that Bahouth includes pictures of finished projects for which she does not provide the charts. This is maddening, because it seems that the one which really grabs you is the one you can't stitch. This is not the only book with this characteristic; reviews of her other books have indicated the same problem.

Other than that, anyone who enjoy medieval design and would like to create rich, beautiful pieces should consider adding this book to the library.

Beautiful and fun designs.......1998-12-22

The designs in this book are wonderful and not difficult to follow, even for a beginner. My only disappointment was that several of the designs in photographs are not charted in the book. I wish she would do another book with some of them. I have made several pieces from this book as gifts.

Average customer rating:

West Meets East

Chinoiserie
Dawn Jacobson
Manufacturer: Phaidon Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0714838365

Amazon.com

The late-'90s fascination with China in the political and business realms is reflected in fashion as well, and Chinoiserie explores a mix of 14th- to 20th-century decorative styles based on European fantasies of "Cathay." Emphatically not historically correct, chinoiserie is a style that grew out of a mélange of travelers' tales, exaggerations, odd lots from India to Japan, and the European imagination of the exotic. This book is peopled with characters ranging from Marco Polo to Madame de Pompadour to P.T. Barnum. Profuse illustrations conjure the visions of Watteau and Boucher, pot painters in Delft and Minton, garden and kiosk designers from England to Poland, and creators of 1920s movie palaces--the style's final incarnation. Tracing the history of commerce as well as the image, chapters cover the time when intercontinental travel and trade were difficult if not impossible, the flowering of French rococo chinoiserie and its spread across 18th-century Europe. It also looks at the jardin anglo-chinois, the descendants of originally aristocratic styles in middle-class English and American homes, and finally the withering of the fantastic Cathay as more reliable information and objects arrived in the West from China in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Should you be curious about the intricately carved dragon on a theater ceiling or wallpaper peopled with "monkeys dressed as Chinamen," this smartly designed book written with verve, a love of the subject, and an insider's point of view provides a jumping-off point for further study and includes a list of places to visit. --Alex Lawrence

Book Description

The late-'90s fascination with China in the political and business realms is reflected in fashion as well, and Chinoiserie explores a mix of 14th- to 20th-century decorative styles based on European fantasies of "Cathay." Emphatically not historically correct, chinoiserie is a style that grew out of a m+lange of travelers' tales, exaggerations, odd lots from India to Japan, and the European imagination of the exotic. This book is peopled with characters ranging from Marco Polo to Madame de Pompadour to P.T. Barnum. Profuse illustrations conjure the visions of Watteau and Boucher, pot painters in Delft and Minton, garden and kiosk designers from England to Poland, and creators of 1920s movie palaces--the style's final incarnation. Tracing the history of commerce as well as the image, chapters cover the time when intercontinental travel and trade were difficult if not impossible, the flowering of French rococo chinoiserie and its spread across 18th-century Europe. It also looks at the jardin anglo-chinois, the descendants of originally aristocratic styles in middle-class English and American homes, and finally the withering of the fantastic Cathay as more reliable information and objects arrived in the West from China in the 19th and 20th centuries. Should you be curious about the intricately carved dragon on a theater ceiling or wallpaper peopled with "monkeys dressed as Chinamen," this smartly designed book written with verve, a love of the subject, and an insider's point of view provides a jumping-off point for further study and includes a list of places to visit. --Alex Lawrence

Customer Reviews:

West Meets East.......2002-03-26

The Far East has inspired Western fashion, interior design and film in recent years: think cropped jeans embellished with embroidered silk, sleeveless Mandarin collar tops, Ralph Lauren's bold mix of red and pink silk bedding, or the profusion of Asian-focused films including Seven Years in Tibet. But this trend is nothing new. Eastern imagery has appeared in Western design for centuries, never really going out of style, and peaking in popularity at various points in history. Ever since the fourteenth century when Europeans first read The Travels of Marco Polo, Westerners have romanticized China and its neighbors, and Western decorative arts have been especially affected by Eastern style. In her book Chinoiserie, Dawn Jacobson explains the phenomenon in great detail. Her focus is on furniture, accessories, interiors and architecture and she highlights the Chinoiserie craze in creations ranging from Chippendale furniture to Delftware to Grauman's Chinese Theater. The illustrations are exquisite and plentiful. Jacobson's text is scholarly-this is an art history text as well as a coffee table book-and the chapters are well organized.

Lions, Dragons, & other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages: Vessels for Church and Table (Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design & Culture)

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Lions, Dragons, & other Beasts: Aquamanilia of the Middle Ages: Vessels for Church and Table (Bard Graduate Centre for Studies in the Decorative Arts, Design & Culture)
Peter Barnet , and Pete Dandridge
Manufacturer: Yale University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

Medieval | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Book Description

This fascinating book explores the history, techniques, and cultural significance of medieval aquamanilia, cast metal objects used to pour water for hand washing in religious and secular contexts. Usually created in appealing animal or human forms, aquamanilia feature two openings, one for filling and the other for pouring. They represent the first emergence of hollow-cast vessels in Western Europe and a significant development in the history of technology. The book presents and catalogues the entire aquamanilia collection of The Metropolitan Museum of Art for the first time, as well as selected examples from other collections and other related medieval objects.

Celtic Design: The Dragon and the Griffin

Average customer rating:

Marvels of Ancient Europe
Celtic versus Viking art
The Dragon and the Griffin

Celtic Design: The Dragon and the Griffin
Aidan Meehan
Manufacturer: Thames & Hudson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Byzantine | Schools, Periods & Styles | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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Celtic Design: The Tree of Life
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ASIN: 0500277923

Customer Reviews:

Marvels of Ancient Europe.......2002-12-13

Aidan Meehan has a great ability to combine solid art history with the never-ending fascination of Celtic artwork without putting the reader off with excess pedantry. In this book in particular, his historic discussions surprised me on several occasions. My initial belief that Celtic art as an isolated form is that of a rank amateur, and Meehan does a fine job of disabusing me and showing how Celtic decoration and illumination started with oriental influences which then mixed with Teutonic and Viking to create a beautiful synthesis.

Of course , the history is framed with Meehan's own renditions of the artwork, each with appropriate discussion of both their unique features and the interlinked development as Irish and Viking met first in conflict and then in trade. Since Meehan's primary audience is artists, he spends the best part of the book showing not just the patterns, but how they are formed and woven into a whole.

Aidan and Oisin Meehan's illustration and calligraphy are strong and clear, with some 220 illustrations. There is a great romance to these images, that has carried forward even into far more modern art. Aidan Meehan is one of those who have dedicated his life's work to keeping these traditions alive.

Celtic versus Viking art.......2000-03-31

I was thrilled to find this book, being of both Irish-Scots and Viking descent. Much of the art of the Gaels and the Norse is similar, due to both a common origin, proximity, raiding, and trading. I've had books on Viking art, harder to find than Celtic, and many on Celtic. But although there was great similarity in the designs, (and also resembles much of the Scythian art which brings us to anthropological discussions) I found nothing to discuss the differences until I found this book. As I discussed in 'Spiral Patterns' by Meehan, his books are delightful sources for the serious interest. He has a way of combining a historical study with the construction of the art that is simply delightful. My favorite in this book is the whimsical 'gripping beast' discussion. Otherwise, though it is hard to describe exactly how, by the end of the book I was not only exposed to a number of Viking designs that I had never seen before, but now able to tell the difference at a glance between the two art forms. The Viking form is less restrained than the Celtic art that reached its height in dreary volumes, the designs such as 'the early viking style' shown have a energetic and powerful energy then the overly tame knotwork. In addition there ARE some examples worth using as clip art, but the main point of the book is serious information as to the history and the meaning of the designs, which other books simply show.

The Dragon and the Griffin.......2000-03-29

This is an excellent book for those who are interested in Celtic art. As with all of the books by Aidan Meehan that I have read so far, this book is historically informative and provides easy to understand techniques for artists wishing to master celtic art or manuscript illumination.

Medieval Alphabets and Decorative Devices (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

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Medieval Alphabets and Decorative Devices (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486404668

Book Description

Exceptionally rich selection of 30 authentic alphabets and dozens of individual letters and ornamental devices taken from the Westminster Abbey monuments of Richard II and Henry III, French prayer books of the 15th century, the stalls in St. George's Chapel at Windsor, and many other sources incorporate vines, flowers, leaves, faces, and other graceful ornaments.

Full-Color Medieval Ornament CD-ROM and Book (Dover Pictorial Archives)

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Dull

Full-Color Medieval Ornament CD-ROM and Book (Dover Pictorial Archives)
Dover
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486995453

Book Description

Selected from 19th-century reprints of medieval manuscripts, 355 full-color illustrations depict a wide range of subjects — from birds, florals, animals, and geometrics to letters of the alphabet embellished with flowers and sinuous vines, mythical beasts, musicians, whimsical figures emerging from flowers, knights in battle, and much more.

Customer Reviews:

Dull.......2006-10-19

Some of these images are interesting. But the colors of these images are dull. Nothing snappy here. I wanted to find images for use in decoupage projects, to make and give as Christmas presents. Not a world shaking goal. Dover is an old, established company with a good reputation. These images, however many dpi they may have, printed out less clearly than images I imported from the web at 72dpi. But the image edges were clean. Which is more than can be said for Dover's "Full-Color Decorative Christmas Illustrations". Ebay sellers ('Luna-girl' has been the best) can do so much better. What's with Dover?

Medieval Ornament and Design (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

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Medieval Ornament and Design (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
Jules Gailhabaud
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0486448851

Book Description

200 splendid illustrations, expertly adapted from ornamentation on medieval structures, include finely detailed panels, gawking gargoyles, marvelously carved pillars and pedestals, exquisite ironwork patterns, decorative stonework, moldings enhanced with intricately woven motifs, and much more. Artists, designers, and craftworkers will find wide use for these royalty-free illustrations.

Medieval Decorative Ornament (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)

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Medieval Decorative Ornament (Dover Pictorial Archive Series)
James Kellaway Colling
Manufacturer: Dover Publications
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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Book Description

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Arts and crafts in the Middle Ages;: A description of mediaeval workmanship in several of the departments of applied art, together with some account of special artisans in the early renaissance,

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Arts and crafts in the Middle Ages;: A description of mediaeval workmanship in several of the departments of applied art, together with some account of special artisans in the early renaissance,
Julia de Wolf Gibbs Addison
Manufacturer: L.C. Page & Co
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Binding: Unknown Binding

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