Book excerpt: The designs in Celtic illuminated manuscripts represent a distinctive fusion of native Irish, Germanic, and Near Eastern motifs. Graphic artist Ed Sibbett has brilliantly captured the intricacy and beauty of this original art tradition in 37 drawings based on illustrations in the Book of Durrow, the Gospels of St. Willibrord, and the illustrious Book of Kells. Among the motifs are the characteristic Celtic interlacings, geometric-animal combinations, and decorative initials, plus powerful ornaments and symbolic abstractions of animals and people. A portrait of St. Matthew appears as a centerspread, not backed up, that may be taken out and framed. Captions identify the source of each picture and explain the iconography.