Not currently on display at the V&A

John Wybarne and his wives Edith and Agnes

Brass Rubbing
ca. 1370 (made), ca. 1503 (made), first quarter 20th century (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Monumental brasses are commemorative plaques that served as effigies and were most commonly found in churches. The earliest examples come from the thirteenth century but they were popular up until the seventeenth century and then again in the Victorian Gothic Revival. Surviving brasses from the medieval period are limited due to the turbulent history of the Church but they do survive in considerable numbers in the East of England, Germany and Flanders. Made from an alloy of copper and zinc, a material known as latten, they were laid into church floors and walls. Monumental brasses are historically and stylistically significant because they record dress, architecture, armoury, heraldry (coats of arms and insignia) and palaeography (handwriting) in a dated object. In addition they tell the story of memorial and patronage.

The practice of recording brasses through a process of rubbing originates from the Victorian Gothic Revival. An early method of pouring printer’s ink into engraved lines and then placing damp tissue paper over the brass was replaced around the mid-nineteenth century with the more effective technique of using black shoemaker’s wax, known as heel ball. Brass rubbing continued to be a popular hobby into the twentieth century before the process was understood to cause damage to the brasses.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleJohn Wybarne and his wives Edith and Agnes
Materials and techniques
wax rubbing on paper
Brief description
Composite of four brass rubbings, including an effigy of a man in armour, ca. 1370, two smaller effigies of two ladies,and an inscription for John Wybarne (d.1490) and his two wives, Edith and Agnes (d.1503), Ticehurst Church, Sussex.
Physical description
Rubbing of a brass effigy of a man in armour, to which has been added the smaller effigies of two women, dressed in the same costume, and a Latin inscription for John Wybarne and his two wives, Edith and Agnes.
Dimensions
  • Main figure height: 863.6mm
  • Main figure width: 228.6mm
  • First female figure height: 454.025mm
  • First female figure width: 152.4mm
  • Second female figure height: 463.55mm
  • Second female figure width: 168.275mm
  • Inscription height: 69.85mm
  • Inscription width: 600.075mm
Dimensions taken from the Print Room's Print Catalogue and converted from inches.
Credit line
Given by Nicolas E. Toke, Esq.
Object history
Brass rubbing taken at Ticehurst Church, Sussex and presented by Nicolas E. Toke, Esq.
Association
Summary
Monumental brasses are commemorative plaques that served as effigies and were most commonly found in churches. The earliest examples come from the thirteenth century but they were popular up until the seventeenth century and then again in the Victorian Gothic Revival. Surviving brasses from the medieval period are limited due to the turbulent history of the Church but they do survive in considerable numbers in the East of England, Germany and Flanders. Made from an alloy of copper and zinc, a material known as latten, they were laid into church floors and walls. Monumental brasses are historically and stylistically significant because they record dress, architecture, armoury, heraldry (coats of arms and insignia) and palaeography (handwriting) in a dated object. In addition they tell the story of memorial and patronage.

The practice of recording brasses through a process of rubbing originates from the Victorian Gothic Revival. An early method of pouring printer’s ink into engraved lines and then placing damp tissue paper over the brass was replaced around the mid-nineteenth century with the more effective technique of using black shoemaker’s wax, known as heel ball. Brass rubbing continued to be a popular hobby into the twentieth century before the process was understood to cause damage to the brasses.
Bibliographic references
  • Victoria and Albert Museum, Department of Engraving, Illustration and Design and Department of Paintings, Accessions 1926, London: Board of Education, 1927.
  • vol. 24 V&A Print Room's Print Catalogue: BRASS RUBBINGS CATALOGUE 1277-1434, 1991
  • vol. I Stephenson, Mill, A List of Monumental Brasses in the British Isles. London: Headley Brothers, 1926, and supplement, 1956.
Collection
Accession number
E.1287-1926

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Record createdJune 30, 2009
Record URL
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