Traditional tattoo ideas

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Traditional tattoo of a grey-shaded sailing ship with red sunburst, waves and a Sail On banner, on the upper back.
Sailing ship with Sail On banner on upper back
Black and grey back tattoo of a shaded map of the British Isles with a dashed route, compass rose, ships, a sea serpent, two heraldic beasts and a banner, placed across the upper and lower back.
British Isles treasure map across a back
Traditional back tattoo of a woman's face framed by red roses, two swallows and a heart with clasped hands, covering the full back.
Traditional back piece with woman, roses and swallows
Colour tattoo of a blue peacock with a long curling green tail and orange flowers on a person's upper back.
Peacock and orange flowers on a back
Traditional-style colour tattoo of a purple rose with banner lettering and two swallows on a woman's upper back, seen from behind.
Rose and swallows on upper back
Woman seen from behind with a traditional-style back tattoo of a pink rose, a dagger and a red and purple panther among roses, plus colourful arm sleeves.
Rose and panther back tattoo with sleeves
Back view of a woman with colourful traditional tattoos of a snake and flowers across her back and arms, and a black and grey dotwork mandala on her neck.
Back, arm and neck tattoos with snake and mandala
Colour tattoo of a sugar skull with a yellow flower on its head, sitting on a pink frosted cupcake with a green striped wrapper, placed on the upper back.
Sugar skull on a cupcake
Black and grey photo of a shaded skull wearing a chef's hat over crossed knives on the upper back, with the script words Mise en Place and a small cupcake above it on the neck.
Chef skull and crossed knives with script on neck
Black and grey traditional style tattoo of an anchor wrapped in rope with a heart on the shank and the words Have Heart beneath, on the upper back.
Anchor and heart with Have Heart script
Person seen from behind with a traditional style back piece of a dark panther-like creature among flames, skull and goblet motifs, and tattooed arms on a plain wall background.
Full back and sleeve tattoos seen from behind
Traditional-style tattoo of a black sitting cat patterned with red, yellow and green flowers, across the upper back.
Folk-art cat with flowers on upper back
Black anchor with a pink bow and heart knot tattooed on the upper back of a person with short hair, in a traditional style.
Anchor and pink bow on upper back
Colour tattoo of a symmetrical folk-style floral mandala with grey shaded petals, red hearts and green leaves on the shoulder and upper back.
Folk floral mandala on a shoulder
Colour tattoo of a pink rose with green leaves inside a circular frame, with the script words Tale As Old As Time arching above it, on a person's upper back.
Pink rose in a ring with script on the back
Traditional style back tattoo of a winged angel holding a palm frond, with red sun rays, black fleur-de-lis crosses and green leaves.
Winged angel with palm on a back
Black and grey Traditional back tattoo on the back, featuring Volkswagen Beetles, wings, flames, a VW heart and stars.
Volkswagen-themed back piece in black and grey
Close photo of a red and orange flower tattoo with green leaves, joined to a black tribal band across the lower back, in a black and white photo.
Red flower with tribal band on lower back
Colour tattoo of a kokeshi-style doll in a blue kimono with cherry blossom branches and a banner reading FOR YOU ANYTHING, on a person's upper back.
Kokeshi doll and cherry blossom on a shoulder blade
Traditional-style colour tattoo of a smiling sun with closed eyes and flame-like rays, placed on a person's back beside a purple patterned strap.
Smiling sun with closed eyes on back
Traditional style colour tattoo of a sailing ship on green waves inside a waffle cone, with pink and orange flowers and green leaves below, on a lower back.
Sailing ship in an ice cream cone with flowers
Back view of a person in a black bikini bottoms showing traditional-style tattoos on the thigh and hip, including a helmeted woman head and a bowling pin.
Traditional helmeted woman on thigh at the beach
Colour tattoo of a vintage sewing machine with a pink rose and scrollwork on a person's upper back, set against an orange sunburst.
Sewing machine and rose on upper back
Traditional black and grey rose tattoo with bold outlines and stippled shading across the back of a shaved head neck, with a snake and wave tattoo below on the upper back.
Black and grey rose on the back of the neck
Black and grey traditional tattoo of two crossed revolvers above a ribbon banner reading Don't Tread On Me, on the lower back.
Crossed revolvers with Don't Tread On Me banner
Colour tattoo of red poppies with green leaves and a closed bud on a person's upper back, in a bold traditional style.
Red poppies on upper back
Colour traditional-style tattoo of a winged angel with praying hands and a yellow halo, placed between the shoulder blades on a person's upper back.
Angel with praying hands on upper back
Full back tattoo of a purple electric guitar framed by grey skulls, pink roses and wings, with banners reading Where words fail and music speaks, in Traditional and Neo-trad style.
Guitar, skulls and roses across a back
Black and grey tattoo of four moths stacked vertically down the centre of a person's back, linked by dotted lines, with a small semicolon above.
Four moths stacked down a spine
Black compass rose tattoo with N, E, S and W letters and a fleur-de-lis on the upper back of a woman wearing a striped top.
Compass rose tattoo on upper back
Full back tattoo in traditional style showing a bald eagle over a red, white and blue flag, with a snake and grey skulls below, on a man photographed from behind.
Eagle, flag and skulls across a back
Colour sun tattoo with orange and yellow rays and a dark outline on a woman's upper back near the shoulder blade, in a traditional style.
Colour sun tattoo on upper back
Black ink sailing ship tattoo on the upper back of a woman with her hair pinned up, in a traditional style.
Sailing ship tattoo on upper back
Traditional style red bird tattoo with black outlines, spread wings and clawed feet across the upper back.
Red bird with spread wings on a back
Traditional style colour tattoo of a gold badge reading Together in Paris, with green petals around its edge, on the upper back near the neck.
Together in Paris badge on upper back
Colourful watercolour-style tattoo of a silhouetted woman with long flowing pink hair, on a person's upper back near the shoulder blade.
Watercolour figure with flowing pink hair on a shoulder
Black and grey traditional-style tattoo of the Neverland treasure map with a compass rose and pirate ship, placed across a person's shoulder blade and upper back.
Neverland treasure map on upper back
Colour traditional-style tattoo on a back showing four drawn female faces above pine trees, with Thank you for being a friend lettering in black.
Four portrait faces with thank you lettering
Colour traditional tattoo of a wren perched on a branch with green leaves and pink blossoms, on a person's back.
Wren on a blossom branch with pink flowers
Woman seen from behind in grey lace lingerie, with a traditional daisy and skull tattoo across her lower back and a rose on her upper arm.
Traditional rose, daisy and skull tattoos on back
Black and grey tattoo of a winged Egyptian goddess kneeling with outstretched wings, with a winged ankh above, across the upper back.
Winged Egyptian goddess on a back
Black and white photo of two people seen from behind, one with a black anchor tattoo on the upper back and the other with a small black anchor on the upper arm, in front of a wall of traditional
Matching anchor tattoos in a studio
Colour tattoo of a mermaid with a green tail rising from blue and white waves across the lower back, in a traditional style.
Mermaid rising from waves on lower back
Black and grey shaded tattoo of a ship's wheel with a coiled rope and anchor, with compass star points, on a person's upper back.
Ship's wheel and anchor on the upper back
Large traditional-style back tattoo of a hooded grim reaper holding a rifle, with arched Sons of Anarchy lettering above and California below, placed across the upper and middle back.
Grim reaper lettering across a back piece
Colour traditional tattoo of a pepperoni pizza slice with a banner reading NOT, flanked by RIOTS and DIETS lettering, on a person's upper back.
Pizza slice with Riots Not Diets lettering
Colour sunflower tattoo with a bold dark outline and green leaves, placed between the shoulder blades on the upper back of a woman with her hand raised to her hair.
Sunflower tattoo on upper back
Traditional colour peacock tattoo across a woman's back, with part of another tattoo visible on her upper arm.
Peacock tattoo across a woman's back