Pewter plaque with Celtic theme by Maureen Costain-Richards

Another unusual find from today. Overall Maureen has a decent style but I can't help but think she's had one too many sherries while working on this. Bet she got up in the morning and kicked herself. Ø=15cm

 

I like it!
Is Kirk a name that common on Isle Of Man...or does it signify a type or class of artisan? An' what about that 3-cornered device beneath Maureen's signature?
Thanks!

 

@Chinoiserie ...Say what now ?

&...

 

Here we go...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_the_Isle_of_Man

 

I like it too. It just looks like she's made a mess of it in places. If you look closely there are untidy score marks, like artists pencil in draft lines when drawing something.

The name 'kirk' is seen a lot across Northern England and Scotland and means church. I think it comes from the influx of Scandinavian people, Vikings. Looks like the Kirks mentioned on the plaque are the parishes of the Isle of Man. The art work relates to each of these. Whether the names derive from viking settlements on the island or if the Celts adopted part of the language and took it with them there I'm not sure. The history of the British isles is a complex one with a lot of movent of different incoming cultures.

 

I knew about the 'church' connection...but parish names never entered my mind...Thank You for that!

 

I think they refer to the origin of the individual designs she used for this plaque, each from a specific church.
The plaits and dragon are from Kirk Michael, the knots are taken from three different kirks, and the animals from Kirk Andreas and Kirk Michael.