Engaged capital made from oolitic limestone, decorated with a griffin and bearded man, western France (possibly Loire Valley), ca. 1100-25.

Engaged capital made from oolitic limestone, decorated with a griffin and bearded man. On the left side, a griffin with head turned back, both claws clutching a fruit (?); on the right, stylised acanthus leaves and a tree-form bearing pine-cones, between the branches of which appears a man's face, moustached and bearded.

This engaged - in other words one made to be set into a wall - capital shows a griffin with head turned back, amongst stylised acanthus leaves. Also depicted is a man's face, perhaps intended to be a 'wild-man' emerging from the woods. The iconography is probably the same as that of its companion piece, A.34-1936. The relatively simple carving of the capital, and of A.34-1936, suggests that it was made for a provincial, parish church.

See P. Williamson, 'Catalogue of Romanesque Sculpture' (V&A publication, London, 1983), pp. 14-15.

The often massive walls of Romanesque churches were enlivened by ‘engaged’ columns. These were false columns half-buried in the wall. They allowed vaults to connect to the walls, and gave the impression that the whole church was supported by columns and capitals. This capital is decorated with a griffin amongst stylised acanthus leaves. Also depicted is a man's face, perhaps intended to be a 'wild-man' emerging from the woods.

A.35-1936