Early Stone Carving

Side A, broad: An irregular flat edge moulding exists on the right, turning as a hacked plinth across the base. The left-hand edge did not have an edge moulding. The face is occupied by three half-coiled snakes surmounted by random clusters of pellets. The arrow-heads of the serpents converge on a frontally disposed human figure who stands in the lower right-hand corner. His knees are slightly bent and his arms are raised in the orans position with clenched fists. His oval head has primitive features: from drilled eyes a U-shaped incision depicts the nose. A narrow beard descends from the chin. His very short kirtle reveals the figure to be phallic. Side, B narrow: Within a plain border is part of a closed circuit pattern of three-cord plait, with pellets filling the ground between and the unpinned loop below. The broad flat strands are irregularly cut. Side, C broad: There is a rudimentary undulating edge on the left. The right-hand edge has been dressed off. The face is filled by a human figure almost identical with that on face A. Three half-coiled snakes attack him and clusters of irregular pellets serve as fillers. Side D, narrow: Dressed off and chamfered, but with traces of interlace at the top probably identical to face B. Discussion: This piece belongs to the Lower Wensleydale workshop, and the rough carving and trick of incising facial features are indications of that group.

Provenance

J. Yarker, formerly cathedral mason, Ripon Minster

Literature

Corpus of Anglo-Saxon Stone Sculpture, Volume VI: Northern Yorkshire, James Lang, p. 172 & p. 430, ills. 645-8.

The central column of a window, probably from a bell tower. Behind the knees is a bolt hole for the window shutters. On the reverse, carved from the same block, are vertical mouldings in the form of a pair of twin colonnettes with torus bases.

Provenance

Private Collection
Sam Fogg London

Dogs are a Christian symbol of faithfulness and regularly appear as such in religious art. In Churches they often occurred on tomb monuments in honour of the deceased’s fidelity. Dominican Friars were sometimes symbolised by a black and white dog: a pun on their name ‘Domini Canes’, dogs of the Lord. The earliest English effigy in alabaster is of a Knight of about 1300 in the parish church of Hanbury some fifteen miles from Nottingham and close to the quarry of Tutbury. His feet are placed on the back of a similar hound dog to this example. More usually the male effigy on a tomb chest is laid flat with his head resting on cushions or a tilting helm if a knight, and his feet against a lion. Pet dogs took the place of lions at a lady’s feet and were carved sometimes playing with the hem of her skirts. Alabaster seems to have come into general use during the second quarter of the 14th century and after the Black Death its use increased rapidly until it set the fashion for all the other trades in religious and monumental tomb sculpture. The earliest reference to Tutbury alabaster is from 1362 when Queen Philippa arranged for six cartloads to be taken to London. Henry III gave Tutbury to his son Edmund, Earl of Lancaster and Tutbury remains today part of the duchy. This Royal connection probably encouraged the Crown’s early interest in alabaster, a preference which was also shown by other European courts. A few years later in 1374 John of Gaunt gave instructions to his agent at Tutbury to send enough alabaster for the tomb of his wife Blanche, who had recently died, and for his own monument in Old St Pauls. The Royal Castle at Tutbury was largely rebuilt by John of Gaunt, and just as Purbeck marble came into favour through Royal patronage, the same was very probably true of alabaster.

Provenance

Private West Country collection acquired pre-second World War Thence by descent
Finch & Co.