Irish Carved Ornament

Celtic ornamentation is remarkable for the apparent ease with which it could be adapted to embellish the stone monuments, the vellum manuscripts and the silver and gold of chalices, shrines and croziers of the early Christian period. In this classic work Henry Crawford describes in detail the ornamentation of the stone monuments of this time, reproducing in the book some 300 illustrations of this form of decoration, which had its origin in the Celtic, pre-Christian period. His photographic restorations of badly weathered stones are unique. Although there have been enormous technological advances in photography and reproduction since it was originally published, Crawford’s work stands as a testimony to his patient dedication to creating the right natural lighting conditions to display the beauty and clarity of these precious works of art.