Basic info

Collection

Archaeology

Object name

Floor tile

Object category

Medieval

Description

Decorated, glazed. Described in Harvey Brook's unpublished catalogue as "Fragment of an encaustic floor tile on which a curious device appears very difficult to understand sufficiently in order to describe properly what it represents. It may be a guild symbolor a merchant's mark used in lieu of a coat of arms or a rebus design of one of the abbot's of St Mary's. The tile is stamped from a die, the sunk parts of pattern have been filled with a thin grout up to the level of the tile face then the surface of the whole glazed. The pennon [pennant] with three forks has a jack next the mast or pole on which is a coat of seven mascles [a lozenge with a lozenge shaped hole in the centre] three three and one, at the foot of lance or pole are two chevrons to secure it in the ground. Decoration in rich yellow ochre on a 'crackle' orange brown ground...."A battle standard set up and daisplyed"...Note: The chevron shaped object may be intended to prepresent a Phaeon, a form of bolt shot from a crossbow."

Production date start

1066

Production date end

1540

Period

Medieval