Birds of various species cover the richly decorated pages of the Book of Kells, either alone or entwined in pairs or groups. In Irish mythology gods and heroes often take the form of hawks or eagles or ravens. Legend has it that Tuan, son of Carill the king of Ireland, lived five lives as a man, a stag, a boar, an eagle, and finally a man again. In extreme old age he whispered the ancient tales to the Christian monk Finnian, whose scribes preserved them in writing. Early peoples may have revered or even have worshipped certain birds, such as the eagle in Europe and America, or the ibis in Egypt. In Christian times the dove represented purity, peace, and of course the Holy Spirit, while the eagle would become the symbol of St. John the Evangelist.

AVIAN INTERLACE No. 1 depicts a pair of birds with entwined necks, feathers and topknots, and is an original design by Michael Carroll, inked and painted entirely by hand using goose quill pen and fine detail brush. This original artwork is reproduced at actual size in the lithographs, and released in a limited edition. Each full color print is hand-signed and numbered by the artist, and is printed on premium acid-free heavyweight paper using the finest lightfast inks. In order to insure the value of each lithograph, the printing plates have been destroyed and this artwork will never again be released in further editions.

Original Artwork created in the style of the Book of Kells
Limited Edition Lithograph of 1000
Numbered and signed by the artist