Is There A Difference Between Irish Jewelry And Celtic Jewelry?
To answer this question will require a little history lesson and some pictures and then we can answer the question...Is there a difference between Irish jewelry and Celtic jewelry?
Celtic jewelry comes from symbols that originated from the Celtic people. The Celtic people did not have a written language so for scientists to study them, they have to rely on drawings of symbols and artifacts left behind.
The Celtic designs came from geometric symbols and some of the more popular symbols in Celtic jewelry are Celtic crosses, Celtic trinity knots and the Celtic eternity knot. In short, Celtic jewelry is made from Celtic knots.
The era of the Celtics was approximately from 390 BC to around 1200 AD. The Celt's were a tribal people that were scattered all over western Europe. But the Romans and other peoples pushed them westward over the years and finally they got a good foothold in what is now considered the UK; England, Ireland, Scotland, Whales, Isle of Man etc. There they developed a stronger culture but still they didn't have a written language.
Interesting note on the Celtic artifacts is that Celtic crosses have been found all over western Europe from Austria to Ireland.
After 1200 AD the Celtic culture started evolving into what is now the British, Irish, Scottish etc. So when you talk of Irish jewelry of Scottish Jewelry you can realize that since the Irish and Celtic histories merge together there will be Celtic influences on Irish art and jewelry.
Up to now, the pictures have represented silver Celtic jewelry. Now lets look at Irish jewelry.
Irish Jewelry
Although the Irish people came from the Celtic people they developed their own culture as did the British and Scottish peoples. Many of the Irish symbols like the four-leaf clover and the three-leaf clover (Shamrock) and the Claddagh symbol are flat out Irish jewelry and symbols.
Many of the Irish jewelry types have religious overtones because much of their rise to art and jewelry came from Christian missionaries like St Patrick using these elements to teach the Irish certain Christian concepts.
Another note worth mentioning is the question about the difference between Irish jewelry and Celtic jewelry is an American notion. In Ireland they are considered one in the same. A Celtic cross necklace for instance would be considered a Irish cross necklace in Ireland. I learned this from talking on Facebook to a man that was from Ireland.
Irish jewelry celebrates their culture as well as their history and Christian influence.
The three-leaf clover or shamrock has three leaves and as legend has it, St. Patrick used it to teach the Holy Trinity. Each petal or leaf of the shamrock represented a member of the Holy Trinity.
Irish Celtic Jewelry
A good example of Irish Celtic jewelry is the Claddagh ring. The Claddagh ring is the pair of hands holding a heart that is wearing a crown. Like the picture shown above. Compare this to the Claddagh ring below:
This Claddagh ring has all the Claddagh elements and a trinity knot on both sides of the Claddagh symbol. By the way, the Claddagh ring is the number one most popular Celtic jewelry type in the entire large collection of Celtic jewelry. To understand the Claddagh look at Claddagh ring meaning.
So to answer the question about the differences of Irish and Celtic jewelry if you're from Europe it's all one type of jewelry (Irish Jewelry). In America there are three groups of jewelry genres: The Celtic jewelry group, The Irish jewelry group and lastly the Irish Celtic jewelry group.
