Pilaster thumbnail 1
Pilaster thumbnail 2
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Not currently on display at the V&A

Pilaster

1580-1600 (made)
Place of origin
Exeter (made)

Five pilasters (249 x 29cm each), carved in low relief. Each consisting of a high pedestal with strapwork and boss, pier with scrolling carving (and a variety of designs) and capital, lion mask ornament above.

4878 [formerly numbered 4870H-1856]: lion mask, pilaster with scrolling stems, caryatid, bearded hermaphrodite foliate figure. Reinforcing panel on reverse with No. 6 in white chalk. Missing section of mitred base moulding.
4878A [formerly numbered 4870I-1856]: foliate mask, pilaster with scrolling stems, caryatid, moustachioed hermaphrodite figure. Reinforcing panel on reverse with E.2 in white chalk. Missing section of mitred base moulding.
4878B [formerly numbered 4870J-1856]: the pilaster shaft carved with a complex scrolling acanthus stem interspersed with birds, a caryatid with vase on its head, dog, naked wildman (facing right) with a club (held upside down) who stands on the head of a dragon.
4878C: [formerly numbered 4870K-1856] the pilaster shaft carved with a complex scrolling vine with bunches of grapes and at the bottom a curly-headed man with a cup, sitting on a barrel (from which the vine grows)
4878D [formerly numbered 4870G-1856]: lion mask, pilaster with scrolling stems with bird, breastplate putto, dog, wild man (facing left) with club, who stands on the head of a dragon. Reinforcing panel on reverse with XX, No. 3 in white chalk. Missing section of mitred base moulding.


Object details

Category
Woodwork
Object type
Pilaster
Parts
This object consists of 5 parts.

  • Pilaster
  • Pilaster
  • Pilaster
  • Pilaster
  • Pilaster
Materials and techniques
Oak, carved
Carving
Carving
Brief description
Five pilasters, Carved oak
Physical description
Five pilasters (249 x 29cm each), carved in low relief. Each consisting of a high pedestal with strapwork and boss, pier with scrolling carving (and a variety of designs) and capital, lion mask ornament above.

4878 [formerly numbered 4870H-1856]: lion mask, pilaster with scrolling stems, caryatid, bearded hermaphrodite foliate figure. Reinforcing panel on reverse with No. 6 in white chalk. Missing section of mitred base moulding.
4878A [formerly numbered 4870I-1856]: foliate mask, pilaster with scrolling stems, caryatid, moustachioed hermaphrodite figure. Reinforcing panel on reverse with E.2 in white chalk. Missing section of mitred base moulding.
4878B [formerly numbered 4870J-1856]: the pilaster shaft carved with a complex scrolling acanthus stem interspersed with birds, a caryatid with vase on its head, dog, naked wildman (facing right) with a club (held upside down) who stands on the head of a dragon.
4878C: [formerly numbered 4870K-1856] the pilaster shaft carved with a complex scrolling vine with bunches of grapes and at the bottom a curly-headed man with a cup, sitting on a barrel (from which the vine grows)
4878D [formerly numbered 4870G-1856]: lion mask, pilaster with scrolling stems with bird, breastplate putto, dog, wild man (facing left) with club, who stands on the head of a dragon. Reinforcing panel on reverse with XX, No. 3 in white chalk. Missing section of mitred base moulding.
Dimensions
  • Height: 249cm
  • Width: 29cm
  • Thickness: 10.5cm
Measured by NH 2016
Object history
Purchased as part of an ensemble (4870 to 4881-1856) 'Panelling of a Room; removed from an old house near Exeter, with doors and carved pilasters to match. English. About 1600. Entire L. 52 ft., average H. 8 ft. 3 in. Bought 50l'

Two pilasters from the group, 4878B (flowers and wildman) and 4878C fruit and man with cup were loaned to the Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter October 2013 for the exhibition West Country to World’s End (Sam Smiles, Susan Flavin, West Country to world's end : the South West in the Tudor age, 2013)

Bibliographic references
  • From: H. Clifford Smith, Catalogue of English Furniture & Woodwork (London 1930), 634, Plates 40 and 41. 4870 to 4881-1856: Part of the panelling of a room. The panelling is composed of a series of panels surrounded on three sides by a moulding. The whole is surmounted by a dentil cornice below which is a frieze formed of oblong panels carved with strapwork and floral scrolls with figures and masks. Along the bottom is a skirting border of strapwork. The panelling is divided at intervals by pilasters, the bases of which are carved with cartouche and strapwork, the shaft panels filled with formal scrolls of fruit and flowers, and with figures, terminals, birds and animals; above are Corinthian capitals surmounted by brackets carved with lions' masks. The panelling includes three doors with wrought iron hinges and latches. Also a piece of panelling 3 ft. 5 in. (104.1 cm) high and two smaller pieces (from below the windows) composed of a row of upright panels, with a row of oblong panels above carved with strapwork and foliage and having a shell in the centre. Removed from a house near Exeter. End of 16th century. From catalogue Total length about 41 ft., H. 8 ft. 2 in. (Total length about 1249.7 cm, H. 249 cm) This panelling corresponds closely with that at Bamfylde House, Exeter (see Museum Negatives, Nos. 32142 and 32143); also with that in the Dining Room at Bradfield Hall, near Exeter (see Negatives Nos. 32285 and 32289).
  • Sam Smiles, Susan Flavin, West Country to world's end : the South West in the Tudor age, 2013, p.26
Collection
Furniture and Woodwork Collection
Accession number
4878-1856

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Record createdJune 7, 2013
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O1264691/pilaster/
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