Description: Isis was an important religious figure within the Ancient Egyptian pantheon. Wife to Osiris and mother to Horus, she wielded considerable power and was known for her skill in magic. She is often depicted in a winged form with a throne on her head, the throne being part of the hieroglyphs used to spell her name. I have based my version of Isis off various New Kingdom artifacts.
Description: This depiction of Sekhmet comes from an Ancient Egyptian menat counterweight. A menat was a type of heavily beaded ritual necklace and the Sekhmet image was used as a counterweight on the back. There are representations of women holding the necklace, possibly shaking them to make noise, during ceremonies honoring the goddess. Here you can see Sekhmet represented as a lion-headed goddess figure. I've recreated this depiction of Sekhmet in my own style based off a menat counterweight located in the Met.
Description: This depiction of Sekhmet comes from an Ancient Egyptian menat counterweight. A menat was a type of heavily beaded ritual necklace and the Sekhmet image was used as a counterweight on the back. There are representations of women holding the necklace, possibly shaking them to make noise, during ceremonies honoring the goddess. Here you can see Sekhmet represented as a lion-headed goddess figure. I've recreated this depiction of Sekhmet in my own style based off a menat counterweight located in the Met.
Ancient Egyptian Menat Counterweight with Sekhmet Lion Goddess Figure T-Shirt
$16 $24
Description: This design is based off of the manuscript of the famous Middle English poem Sir Gawain of the Green Knight (from the Cotton MS Nero A X manuscript). I've recreated one of the illustration by hand carving my own block print then printing and scanning it. The image depicts Sir Gawain near his final confrontation with the Green Knight.
Description: The Queen of the Night panel, also known as the Burney Relief, is a famous piece of Mesopotamian art. Depicting a winged-goddess standing on the backs of two lions and flanked by two owls, the piece has been called into question for its authenticity but is generally considered to be historical. However the identity of the goddess remains a mystery, posited as depicting Ishtar (Inanna) the goddess of love or perhaps her sister, Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld. Here I've shown her just by herself.
Description: The Queen of the Night panel, also known as the Burney Relief, is a famous piece of Mesopotamian art. Depicting a winged-goddess standing on the backs of two lions and flanked by two owls, the piece has been called into question for its authenticity but is generally considered to be historical. However the identity of the goddess remains a mystery, posited as depicting Ishtar (Inanna) the goddess of love or perhaps her sister, Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld. Here I've shown her with just the lions.
Description: The Queen of the Night panel, also known as the Burney Relief, is a famous piece of Mesopotamian art. Depicting a winged-goddess standing on the backs of two lions and flanked by two owls, the piece has been called into question for its authenticity but is generally considered to be historical. However the identity of the goddess remains a mystery, posited as depicting Ishtar (Inanna) the goddess of love or perhaps her sister, Ereshkigal, the goddess of the underworld.
Description: This winged griffon comes from the imagery found in Susa Palace built during the Achaemenid Empire. The palace was constructed by Darius I, also known as Darius the Great. At one point the palace burned and eventually it was captured by Alexander the Great. I've based my winged griffon off the ones which can be found in the Lourve
Description: The Ancient Mesopotamian goddess Lama was considered a protective goddess. Here she is depicted in a characteristic praying pose with her hands raised. She wears a ruffled skirt with her distinctive headdress and locks of hair. The original stele has her skirt covered in cuneiform which placed a curse on anyone who tampered with the goddess figure, but I've simplified it.
Description: The Torslunda plates, discovered in Sweden, are a series of images depicting various warriors and animal figures. They are dated somewhere between the 6th - 8th century AD during the Vendel Period. I've based my version off one segment of the plates depicting two warriors with boar helmets.
Description: Most famous for their depictions on canopic jars, the four sons of Horus are Ancient Egyptian gods. Duamutef is the jackal figure who protected the stomach. Imsety is the human figure protecting the liver. The baboon figure is Hapy and he protected the lungs. And, finally, Qebehsenuef is the falcon figure who protected the intestines.
Description: The Torslunda plates, discovered in Sweden, are a series of images depicting various warriors and animal figures. They are dated somewhere between the 6th - 8th century AD during the Vendel Period. I've based my version off one segment of the plates depicting a wolf warrior, probably an Úlfhéðnar, and a man in a horned helmet. The man with the helmet is thought to be Odin due to the missing right eye.
Description: The Torslunda plates, discovered in Sweden, are a series of images depicting various warriors and animal figures. They are dated somewhere between the 6th - 8th century AD during the Vendel Period. I've based my version off one segment of the plates depicting a wolf warrior, probably an Úlfhéðnar.
Description: The imagery of this design comes from an archaeological find of Mjolnir. Mjolnir-- or Mjölnir-- is the hammer of the god Thor in Norse mythology. Thor was a very popular god and hundreds of hammers representing Mjolnir have been discovered. I based my digital block print on one such find in Skane.
Description: The imagery of this design comes from an archaeological find of Mjolnir. Mjolnir-- or Mjölnir-- is the hammer of the god Thor in Norse mythology. Thor was a very popular god and hundreds of hammers representing Mjolnir have been discovered. I based my digital block print on one such find.
Description: The imagery of this design comes from an archaeological find of Mjolnir. Mjolnir-- or Mjölnir-- is the hammer of the god Thor in Norse mythology. Thor was a very popular god and hundreds of hammers representing Mjolnir have been discovered. I based my digital block print on one such find.
Description: The imagery of this design comes from multiple historical archaeological finds of Mjolnir. Mjolnir-- or Mjölnir-- is the hammer of the god Thor in Norse mythology. Thor was a very popular god and hundreds of hammers representing Mjolnir have been discovered. I based my digital block print on three separate finds in Scandinavia.
Description: Valkyries were female Norse mythological figures who picked from the slain in the battlefield to bring them to Odin's hall of Valhalla. In the archaeological record there are multiple examples of Valkyries, including used as brooches. I've based my design on a variety of those brooches from the Viking era, recreating it in my own style.
Description: This symbol comes from the Picts, a group of people who inhabited areas of what is now Scotland. They are known for their stone carvings, although the meaning behind most of their symbols has now been lost. This symbol is commonly called the "Pictish beast" and is thought to perhaps represent a variety of animals-- both mythological and real-- and perhaps have been of great importance. I have recreated it here in my own style.
Description: Anne Boleyn, c1501 - 1536 CE, was the second wife and queen consort of King Henry VIII of England. She was accused of treason, divorced, and ultimately beheaded becoming in the process one of the most famous queens in all of British history. Upon her marriage to Henry VIII their initials-- an entwined "H" and "A"-- were carved throughout Hampton Court. However, after her fall, these were ordered to be destroyed as Henry VIII strove to remove all traces of his previous wife. Only a few managed to survive-- missed by the workers-- normally in difficult to reach places. I've based my version of Henry and Anne's monogram on one of these overlooked carvings that can still be found in Hampton Court.
Description: This depiction of a Pterodactylus is based on an 1800s illustration from the book "La Terre Avant le Deluge" illustrated by Edouard Riou. I've recreated his original illustration in my own digital block print style, simplifying it to just the swooping Pterodactyl and its soon to be snack dragonfly.
Description: This depiction of Osiris is based off a portion of an Ancient Egyptian New Kingdom stela now located in The Met. In the stela the deceased, a man named Senu, is shown adoring the seated Osiris, god of the afterlife and agriculture. Here I have chosen to just depict the god wearing his distinctive atef crown and holding a crook and flail, recreating the image in my own unique style.
Description: Anne Boleyn, c1501 - 1536 CE, was the second wife and queen consort of King Henry VIII of England. She was accused of treason, divorced, and ultimately beheaded becoming in the process one of the most famous queens in all of British history. Her personal badge was a crowned white falcon sitting atop a stump with roses. Here I've recreated one of the iconic Hampton Court carvings of Anne Boleyn's badge which were nearly all destroyed shortly after her fall. Only a few managed to survive and can still be seen at Hampton Court today. This version is slightly simplified-- representing just the falcon on the stump with roses-- but still maintains a bit of the damage you can find on the original carving!
Description: Anne Boleyn, c1501 - 1536 CE, was the second wife and queen consort of King Henry VIII of England. She was accused of treason, divorced, and ultimately beheaded becoming in the process one of the most famous queens in all of British history. Her personal badge was a crowned white falcon sitting atop a stump with roses. Here I've recreated one of the iconic Hampton Court carvings of Anne Boleyn's badge which were nearly all destroyed shortly after her fall. Only a few managed to survive and can still be seen at Hampton Court today. My version of the carving is slightly simplified, but I have maintained some of the damage that can be seen on the original and, of course, the four lovely Tudor roses that surround it!
Description: This runic inscription is of the Elder Futhark, the oldest form of rune alphabet. I've based my version off of the Kylver Stone which is from around 400 CE and is the oldest known written sequence of the Elder Futhark. Some of the runes are a little different from what is commonly seen elsewhere. Perhaps this is a personal "handwriting" style, the runes hadn't been formalized in style, or even a mistake? The final symbol-- the tree-like one-- is not part of the Elder Futhark but thought to perhaps be a bindrune. For my version I have written each rune by hand with ink and a calligraphy brush then scanned it to make it truly unique!
Description: This symbol comes from the Pict people, a group of people who inhabited areas of what is now Scotland. They are known for their stone carvings, although the meaning behind most of their symbols has now been lost. This symbol is commonly called the "double disk and z-rod" and I have recreated it in my own style.
Description: Based on a compilations of images of Cernunnos, I've re/created this version in my own style. Cernunnos is holding two torcs-- a type of Celtic jewelry-- and is wearing a large brooch. It's one of my few designs that's not completely historically accurate, but I really liked how the image turned out!
Description: Based on the handwriting in the Nowell Codex, I have recreated in my own style the iconic opening word to the epic poem Beowulf. Sometimes translated as "listen", "what ho", "hear me", "attend", or "so" there is, overall, no consensus as to meaning. I have also created a-- much simplified-- version of an Anglo-Saxon sword to represent Hrunting, the sword Beowulf uses in battle against Grendel's mother.
