Not currently on display at the V&A

Tau head

Staff
ca. 1650 - ca. 1670 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This is a tau head and staff are made in ca. 1650-70 perhaps in Constantinople. The tau head is of ivory and formed of two reversed dragons' heads, coloured partly in red with black eyes. It is set onto a staff comprising of three parts. A closely comparable tau head is in the Iviron Monastery, of Mount Athos, which has an inscription dating it to 1662. It seems likely that the present tau head dates from about the same time. Tau heads formed the tops of crosses or staffs in the shape of a T, the Greek letter ‘tau’, hence the name.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 4 parts.

  • Staff
  • Staff
  • Staff
  • Bag of Fragments
TitleTau head (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Ivory, wood, tortoise shell, mother of pearl, silver studs and metal fittings
Brief description
Staff, ivory, wood, mother of pearl, a tau head with the ends in the form of dragon's heads, perhaps Constantinople, ca. 1650-70
Physical description
Staff, eight-sided wood with small plates of Tortoise shell mother of pearl, and decorated with studs and ivory knobs. The head is in ivory, the ends in the form of dragon's heads.
Dimensions
  • Whole length: 164cm
  • Head alone height: 4cm
  • Of head width: 14cm
Object history
Bought for £8 from Caspar Purdon Clarke (1847-1911), who was to become Director of the South Kensington Museum (later renamed Victoria and Albert Museum) from 1896 to 1904. The tau head had been acquired in Corfu.
Subject depicted
Summary
This is a tau head and staff are made in ca. 1650-70 perhaps in Constantinople. The tau head is of ivory and formed of two reversed dragons' heads, coloured partly in red with black eyes. It is set onto a staff comprising of three parts. A closely comparable tau head is in the Iviron Monastery, of Mount Athos, which has an inscription dating it to 1662. It seems likely that the present tau head dates from about the same time. Tau heads formed the tops of crosses or staffs in the shape of a T, the Greek letter ‘tau’, hence the name.
Bibliographic references
  • List of Objects in the Art Division, South Kensington, Acquired During the Year 1877, Arranged According to the Dates of Acquisition. London : Printed by George E. Eyre and William Spottiswoode for H.M.S.O., p. 41
  • Longhurst, Margaret H. Catalogue of Carvings in Ivory. London: Published under the Authority of the Board of Education, 1927-1929, Part II, p. 115
  • Watts, W. W. Catalogue of Pastoral Staves. London, 1924. p. 33. cat. no. 31, pl. 19
  • Treasures of Mount Athos. Thessaloniki, 1997, pp. 428-429, cat. nos. 9.85, 9. 86
  • Trusted, Marjorie, Baroque & Later Ivories, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, 2013, cat. no. 324a, p. 329
Collection
Accession number
461:1 to 4-1877

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Record createdSeptember 26, 2008
Record URL
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