Basic info

Collection

Archaeology

Object name

Floor tile

Object category

Medieval

Description

Decorated, glazed. Figure of a king. In his unpublished catalogue Harvey Brook wrongly describes this as the Virgin Mary. However, as the figure is wearing a cuirass (a sort of armour) it must be a male figure. Having described it wrongly as a picture of the Virgin Mary he goes on to say: "This tile has been struck from a die and the sunk parts of the pattern filled with a grout of liquid clay to the level of face and then glazed. The filling of some lines of the pattern hasfallen out on the sinister side (actually right) of the head the ear are seen, the tresses of hair falling gracefully around.Over the body garment on the dexter and sinistershoulder are two roses... the collar of the bodice has a a band of two lines between which are ten lozenges at regular intervals. [The garment described is not a bodice but a cuirass] ... The ground colour has been very dark or black: the ground colour of the face & figure has been a brilliant golden yellow tinged in places with flakes of orange over which a high glaze - this only exists now in patches..."

Production date start

1066

Production date end

1540

Period

Medieval