Dated at the end of the 8th century, probably belonging to the Iona foundation, the Book of Kells is the supreme achievement of Celtic art. No other manuscript approaches it in the richness of its detail, including zoomorphics of such incredible delicacy that the unaided eye cannot entirely see the microscopic perfection and intricacy of the work.

The new element in the zoomorphic repertory of the Book of Kells is that of the anthropomorphic interlacement, introducing the human contortionist with a touch of drollerie.

Perhaps it is this inclusion of the human figure among the birds, dogs, serpents and trees-of-life that populate the abstract ornamentation of this rich piece of art that gives it a cohesion and an unity that is overwhelming.

Such fanciful and graceful expression of ornament, arrived at through the experience of early Christianity in Ireland, is the height of Celtic art; but to bring it to such a high point it took the combination of many elements from many other cultures who all contributed to the long history of zoomorphic interlacement.