Happy New Year

This unusual New Year’s card is one of a series of greetings cards. George Bain probably produced them while living by Loch Ness. The greeting, in Gaelic and English, cleverly refers to the golden door at its centre. The gold spirals are reminiscent of those in early medieval illuminated manuscripts and on Pictish stone cross-slabs. 

The ornate archway around the door is guarded by two pairs of birds. They are one of Bain’s favourite designs. Looking closely, you can see that he hasn’t just done a mirror image. He’s made their long necks interlace into a different pattern on each side. The design is particularly pleasing as the round plaque above the doorway is held in place by the feet of these four birds.

George Bain signed this work in both English and Gaelic, as he did on some of his other cards.