Panel
15th century (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
This alabaster panel depicts the head of St John the Baptist. Alabaster, a fine grained form of gypsum, is a smooth marble-like stone that became popular during the late Middle Ages for the carving of religious sculpture. Softer than marble, it was much easier to carve and also considerably cheaper. England was an important European centre of alabaster production, with quarries outside Nottingham, York, Burton-on-Trent and London. From about 1380s, alabasters - both single devotional images and reliefs for altarpieces - were exported in considerable numbers to the continent where they were to survive, whereas in England such images were destroyed during the Reformation.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Carved and painted alabaster |
| Brief description | Alabaster panel depicting the head of St John the Baptist, England, 15th century |
| Physical description | Alabaster panel with some original paint surviving, depicting the bearded head of St John the Baptist on a plate. The head and wings of an angel above, while below the saint's emblem, the Agnus Dei, lies on the ground, head raised, with a cross above and a closed book to the right. The background is painted with daisy pattern on green on the lower portion of the panel. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Dr. W L Hildburgh |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Summary | This alabaster panel depicts the head of St John the Baptist. Alabaster, a fine grained form of gypsum, is a smooth marble-like stone that became popular during the late Middle Ages for the carving of religious sculpture. Softer than marble, it was much easier to carve and also considerably cheaper. England was an important European centre of alabaster production, with quarries outside Nottingham, York, Burton-on-Trent and London. From about 1380s, alabasters - both single devotional images and reliefs for altarpieces - were exported in considerable numbers to the continent where they were to survive, whereas in England such images were destroyed during the Reformation. |
| Bibliographic reference | Boldrick, Stacy, <i>Wonder: Painted Sculpture from Medieval England</i>, Leeds, Henry Morre Institute, 2002 |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | A.127E-1946 |
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| Record created | April 20, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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