These two panels would have come from a scheme of room panelling. The fleur-de-lys would have been a common French motif, referring to the royal arms of France and suggesting loyalty, and to the Virgin Mary. The crossed arrows are more specific and may have related to the coat of arms of the person for whom the panelling was first made. The panels are part of a collection of several hundred carvings given to the Museum in 1921 by Sir Charles Allom and his wife, in memory of their son, who died in the First World War. IFrom 1893 Sir Charles headed White Allom & Co., one of the most successful firms of architectural decorators in Britain, specialising in the copying of historic styles. Between 1900 and 1914 he also began to work for clients in the United States and after the First World War he spent time in both countries. The collection of carvings seems to have been put together as a study collection for his son, perhaps in the expectation that he would follow in his father's footsteps and take over the firm.