Celtic Design

Styles through the Era.

Hallstatt - Tribal Geometric in design consisting of repeated patterns. Through this repetition the design seems more complex and complicated.










La Tene - Developed into spiral and leaf shape designs also animal and human faces may appear depending on the view point










Knot work Interlace - The most famous Celtic design. This design looks like a woven strips that weave into each other. Generally made up of 1 continuous strip










Spirals - Sometimes called Triskelion where a center point would have 3 swirls emerging from it. May be found as double, triple or quadruple swirls.










Zoomorphics - The practice of implementing animals in thee design.  The animals are twisted and fused into the design leaving claws tails as the only loos ends .. each animal had its own meaning.









Maze and Step Patterns -  A Geometric form of spirals looking closely it forms a maze like pattern . in my opinion it resembles the Greeks.









People - People were also depicted in Celtic designs the extremities such as hair and limbs are fused into the knot work designs.

Zoomorphic animal meanings:

Hounds - loyalty
Lions - nobility, strength
Snakes - rebirth (Dragon or serpent designs may be interpreted the same as snakes)
Birds - purity (peacocks) or nobility (eagles)
Salmon - knowledge
Bull - strength
Boar - ferocity, strength

Sources : 

Aon Celtic Art. 2013. Aon Celtic Art. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.aon-celtic.com/trade_history_meanings.html. [Accessed 19 May 2013].