AVIAN INTERLACE $40.00 Limited Edition Lithograph 5" x 7" Actual Image Size Copyright 1999 Michael Carroll   Please note: the images shown here are scanned while the actual lithographs are printed with crisp detail and brilliant color. .

Birds of various species cover the richly decorated pages of the Book of Kells, either alone or tightly entwined in pairs or groups. Then as now, the bird and its soaring flight fascinated humans, who since ancient times have used the bird as a religious symbol. In Irish mythology both 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 who in his extreme old age 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 came to represent purity and peace, 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.

The original artwork is reproduced at actual size in the lithographs, and has been released in a limited edition of 1000. 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.