'The Scholar and the Blackbird'

Today we bid farewell to a fixture in the Library since April 2002, the beautiful wooden sculpture 'The Scholar and the Blackbird' (above, a collage of images), by the sculptor Imogen Stuart, who has kindly loaned it to us for the last seven years. It is on its way to Mary Immaculate College in Limerick. It was made in pitch-pine in 1996. The lettering on three sides of the column features a translation from the Irish of a 'marginal poem' of the 9th century, probably written by an unnamed monk. More notes on the piece, and its creator, and a description by Brian Fallon from his book Imogen Stuart: a sculptor, can be read here in the original Library notice.

Below, a slideshow, including close-ups of the surface and lettering (click on the photo for larger views):-