Lot 38C
Europe, Great Britain, Medieval Period, ca. 1200 CE. An interesting pottery head made from a heavy, smooth white clay. The face has interesting, almost haunting features, with a strong nose, sunken eyes, and a round, open mouth. The head was the seat of the soul and the intellect to medieval Europeans, and its depiction was important to medieval artists. This head resembles a "grotesque", one of the carved animals, monsters, or disfigured humans whose faces were popular subjects for medieval marginalia - both as drawings in books and as sculptural elements in architecture. In many churches from this period (that survived the rampages of the Reformation), you can see prominent richly carved scenes of kings, queens, and saints, as at York Minster - but in the corners, up on top of columns, there will often be lurking grotesque images like this one. Size: 3.25" W x 5.25" H (8.3 cm x 13.3 cm)
Provenance: Ex-Private UK collection
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#118398
- Condition: Chips as shown, carbon deposits on surface show it was in a fire before being buried
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