6 - Construction and Design

Summary

THERE are clear changes in the style and design of Anglo-Saxon goldsmith’s work, between periods, and also between regions. Manyof these changes of style relate to broad factors of cultural development and interaction,such as the influence of late Roman traditions of metalworking; the relationship between Celtic, Anglo-Saxon and Mediterranean art in the first Christian centuries; and the influence of Scandinavian art styles as a result of the Viking invasions and settlements from the late ninth century onwards. These very broad issues of dating and stylistic attribution are not in themselves the topic of this book. However, there are some factors in the design of metalwork which can only be explained in terms either of the constraints of the available technology,or in the status of fine metalwork in relation to other arts. There may also be some features of metalwork which particularly well illustrate the aesthetic sensibilities of the Anglo-Saxons. It is such considerations which are developed here.

Apart from a few glimpses, the main evidence for what the Anglo-Saxon goldsmiths were capable of,and what their means of production were,is the jewellery itself. As we have seen, we have very little evidence of workshops, and no truly specialised fine metalworking sites, with the probable excep- tion of Coppergate,York. Even though the huge concentration of fine work in precious metals from late sixth- and seventh-century Kent,and especially the Faversham area, strongly implies the existence of a local production site, as does the place-name itself (see chapter 8), this has not as yet been located. We may still be unclear about how the goldsmiths traded, especially in the earlier centuries, and about how specialised they were. We do not know how many of them there were at any one time, nor for most of the period whether they worked alone or in ateliers (see chapter 9). What we do know, however, is that they possessed great skill in both designing and making.

DESIGN IDEAS

It is a truism to say that design does not exist in a vacuum. All design has an historical and cultural context linking it to sources in the past and in contemporary works in other media. Iconography can relate to both current ideology, and to the regard in which particular media are held in a particular society.