The pieces on display in the Warrior Treasures Staffordshire Hoard exhibition are completely fascinating and enchanting. So much work and skills has gone into creating them. There are a number of pieces that are decorated with spirals, most of these have double spirals, but a few of them have a mixture of different spiral patterns.
my favourite piece in the hoard in the shape of a horse and decorated with double spirals
Many ancient civilizations across the world used spirals in their artwork. Neolithic examples that are 4-5,000 years old can be seen at the entrance to the Newgrange passage tomb in Ireland as well as Megalithic Temple decoration in Malta.
Neolithic / Copper Age spiral temple decoration from Malta
Spirals are believed to signify the cycle of life and double spirals the Spring and Autumn equinoxes.
Maybe the use of spirals by these ancient civilizations helped to make them revered mysterious symbols and continue their usage by later civilizations.
Some of the spiral decorated pieces in the Staffordshire Hoard exhibition:
double spiral decoration on a bird shaped figure
a mixture of spiral and other patterns
double spiral decoration on a pommel
a mixture of spirals and other patterns
Taking inspiration from these Anglo Saxon spiral designs in the Staffordshire Hoard exhibition and linking it to jewellery making, I taught 2 spiral jewellery making workshops for the Leeds Royal Armouries Museum in July and August 2016 as part of their Warrior Treasures exhibition.
See some pieces created by my students on these workshops in my next blog post. Samantha, jewellery artist x
