Identifier: artsinearlyengla03brow (find matches)
Title: The arts in early England
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Brown, G. Baldwin (Gerard Baldwin), 1849-1932 Webster, A. Blyth (Adam Blyth), 1882-1956 Sexton, Eric H. L. (Eric Hyde Lord), 1902-1980
Subjects: Art Architecture Architecture, Medieval Church architecture Crosses Decoration and ornament, Celtic Inscriptions, Runic
Publisher: London, J. Murray
Contributing Library: Wellesley College Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
icularly good one, PL iv, 11, that occurs with theMerovingian reverse of a bird on the top of a cross, reckonedas later than 600, and it is an interesting fact that only theother day a coin, so like this that one would think it must havebeen struck by the same moneyer, came to light in the graveof an Anglo-Saxon at Broadstairs, PL iv, 12. The conjunctionis a striking proof of the commercial intercourse across theNorth Sea. The well-designed head on PL iv, 3 occurs witha reverse with the PADA legend in runes which is fixed toabout 656. The profile heads on the earliest pennies are ofcourse still later, and are of special merit, though they musthave been executed by the same class of Anglo-Saxon workmenthat were busy on the later sceattas. Without entering further into questions of chronology aword may be said about an interesting series of profiles inwhich the figure is holding something in his hand. This is1 British Museum Catalogue, 1, xiii. VI facing p. 85 SCEATTAS ENGLISH AND DUTCH
Text Appearing After Image:
All silver, enlarged from i; to 2J diameters PROFILE HEADS 85 sometimes a cross, but is also commonly a cup, and occasion-ally a bird. PI. vi, Nos. 1 to 7 give specimens. Noteworthyin several of these is the arrangement of the hair. Thestarting point is no doubt the Roman fillet, as in PL 1, 2, andthis is still apparent in PL vi, 3. In the other examplesshown, PL vi, 1, 4, 6, the artist has played with the ends ofthe band and tied them in picturesque knots, so that the piecesare said by Mr. Keary to have hair and dress of Saxoncharacter.1 There is undoubtedly an originality about thetreatment that makes these heads easily distinguishable fromanything in the Frankish series, and the feeling for knot-workis significant of the Anglo-Saxon artistic tendencies at thetime. Their reverses are in some respects of much interest.Some particularly spirited animal designs, given on PL vin(p. 99), occur with these heads, and if the heads seem speci-ally Anglo-Saxon so, as we shall see, do the anim

Note About Images