Galleries : Celtic : Bona na Croin
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"Collar nor Crown" Janine Marie Kahn comments regarding the symbolism of this piece: "The tree of Guernica (ger nika) was a symbol of traditional Basque freedoms. The elders would gather under this particular oak tree in Guernica (a small city in the Basque country---in Spain, where most of my blood is from) and swear to respect freedom under its boughs. The original tree lived from 1860 and died just last year in June (2004). The fox (a take on the traditional irish wolf design) is yet another symbol of freedom and defiance, stepping on a broken crown in disregard for sovereignty, and wearing a broken collar--she is not a slave to the tangible universe, or society and its norms. I chose a fox because I didn't feel a wolf had my personality written in it. Wolves are silent, subtle, wiser---foxes are craftier tricksters that sometimes don masks and smile but hold the knife. (sword, mask) The cross is not a symbol of catholicism for this one, since I never had anything divine to believe in. It used to symbolize the four directions, and that's what it was meant to mean here. The defiance from the fox or whoever is beneath the tree of guernica flows in all directions. Bona na Coin is what's usually written under the Irish Wolf design - 'Neither collar nor crown.'" Permission is not given for this piece to be used for tattoos! Please contact the artist if you are interested in having a personal tattoo commissioned.
Size: 6 x 6 inches 
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