An element of fine Celtic tradition is jewellery-making. Scotland takes great pride in its Celtic roots, and even more so now that they have been modernised by its prolific son, Charles Renee Mackintosh. While he was recently discovered to have created trinkets for his wife, most pieces which claim to be “Renee Mackintosh gold jewellery” today are actually inspired by his body of work.

Mackintosh is described as a guiding force of the Art Nouveau movement, which sought to marry Eastern influences with Western art and culture. He specifically tried to marry bring together Japanese art with Scottish-Celtic sensibilities. The Japanese influences in his designs are very obvious and have been well documented, but what about the Scottish side?

It is then fortunate that Celtic art is composed of very dynamic lines, many of which found their way into the Art Nouveau movement. These do not just get from point A to point B. They do so with flair,
always curving and winding. They form soft, delicate angles.

This also leads us to the next point for supporting Mackintosh’s nods to his roots, the use of interlacing. In his designs, the lines wind around each other, and are almost always connected at some point. But another popular way of connecting these lines is through knotwork, and these in turn become a consistent pattern. All these are synonymous with Celtic design.

And finally, there is no way to ignore the fact that the Celts have had a long tradition of creating metal jewellery. By stark contrast, the Japanese preferring beadwork made of jade and glass. This alone can prove that both Mackintosh and the jewelers inspired by him design their pieces with unmistakable Celtic influences.

Renee Mackintosh was not the sole pioneer of the Art Nouveau and Celtic revival art movements, but his modernisation of Scottish-Celtic designs endures today. Thanks to his work, the Celtic jewellery-making tradition continues to enjoy widespread popularity.