Profile of a girl
- Object:
- Place of origin:
London, England (probably, made)
- Date:
- Artist/Maker:
- Materials and Techniques:
- Museum number:
- Gallery location:
British Galleries, room 58e, case WN
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Object Type
This terracotta relief, showing the profile of a girl with wings at her ears - a motif probably inspired by classical sources - was produced as part of the architectural decoration for the exterior of Suffolk Place, Southwark, London. This and other reliefs were excavated on the site of the house in 1937.
Places
Suffolk Place was a vast house built between 1518 and 1522 by Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk. It is the earliest example of a Tudor courtyard house known to have carried this type of extensive terracotta decoration. This use of terracotta quickly became fashionable and appeared on other buildings commissioned by Henry VIII's courtiers, including Cardinal Wolsey's York Place (later Whitehall) and Hampton Court Palace.
People
Charles Brandon was an orphan raised at the court of Henry VII and became a life-long friend of Henry VIII, who made him 1st Duke of Suffolk in 1514. The Duke was one of Henry VIII's most powerful courtiers, marrying Henry's sister, Mary, in 1518.
Materials & Making
The relief is made of moulded clay that was dried and fired to create terracotta (literally 'cooked earth'), a material suitable for use as external decoration. Although building projects such as Suffolk Place were on a vast scale, by using a cheap raw material and a reproductive method of manufacture the buildings could be decorated economically and speedily.
Physical description
Octagonal relief in cream terracotta. The head of a girl in profile to the left, with long plaits of hari knotted together in front. A pair of wings cover her ears and are tied round her neck by a riband fastened in front with a tassel.
Place of Origin
London, England (probably, made)
Date
1518-1522 (made)
Artist/maker
unknown (production)
Materials and Techniques
Cast terracotta
Dimensions
Height: 31 cm, Width: 28.5 cm, Depth: 13.5 cm maximum
Object history note
Probably made in London for Suffolk Place, Southwark, the house of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk (died in 1545)
Descriptive line
Relief, profile of girl.
Bibliographic References (Citation, Note/Abstract, NAL no)
Morris, Richard K, 'Architectural Terracotta Decoration in Tudor England' in Lindley, Paul, Frangenberg, Thomas (ed.) Secular Sculpture 1300-1550 Stamford, 2000, pp.179-209.
Lindley, P, review of Homand, M, 'The Early Tudor Country House: Architecture and Politics 1490-1550' Oxford Art Journal. XI/I, 1988, pp.65, 66 (fig. 1.)
Gurn, S.J and Lindley, P.G. 'Charles Brandon's Westhorpe: An Early Tudor Courtyard House in Suffolk' Archaeological Journal CXLV, 1988, p. 280, pl. XXIC.
Lindley, P.G. 'Playing check-mate with royal majesty? Wolsey's patronage of Italian Renaissance Sculpture' in Gunn, S.J and Lindley, P.G (ed.) Cardinal Wolsey. Church, State and Art Cambridge, 1991, pp.261-285
Manning and Bray, History...of the County of Surrey. III, 1814, pp.632-4
Rendle, William and Norman, Philips Inns of Old Southwark and their associations. London: Longmans, Green. 1888. p.265
Stow. Survey of London. 1908, pp.59, 60
Bilbey, Diane with Trusted, Marjorie. British Sculpture 1470 to 2000. A Concise Catalogue of the Collection at the Victoria and Albert Museum. London: V& A Publications, 2002. pp. 26. cat. no. 33
Labels and date
British Galleries:
These terracottas were fired like bricks in a kiln, but were probably made from finer, denser clays. They were mass-produced and used mainly to decorate exterior brickwork. The motifs shown here are fragments of pilaster ornament and of a winged cherub, which may originally have supported a coat of arms. The winged female head evokes the spirit of ancient Rome and may be derived from a classical motif. Similar works are found elsewhere in Europe, and these examples may show the influence of Italian sculptors working in England. [27/03/2003]
Materials
Terracotta
Techniques
Cast
Subjects depicted
Girl; Wings
Categories
Sculpture; Architectural fittings
Collection code
SCP
