Muiredach Cross Cats - Monasterboice, County Louth, Ireland, Mid 9th Century A.D.

The design for this relief was adapted from a detail on the west face of Muiredach's Cross at Momsterboice, County Louth, one of the largest and finest of the surviving Irish high crosses. The cats' unusually benevolent relationship to the dove and mouse recall the Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah (Chapter 11, Verse 6) in which the coming of the Messiah ("The Branch of Jesse") will usher in a new era of tolerance and love. 14.75"W, Stone