Fragment of a pilaster, with two winged griffins thumbnail 1
Fragment of a pilaster, with two winged griffins thumbnail 2
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images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 58

Fragment of a pilaster, with two winged griffins

Fragment
1518-1522 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Object Type
This terracotta relief, which probably formed part of a pilaster (a rectangular column projecting slightly from a wall), was produced as 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 by Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, between 1518 and 1522. 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 which was dried and fired to create terracotta (literally 'cooked earth'), a material suitable for use as external decoration. The scale of building projects such as Suffolk Place was vast and by using a cheap raw material and a reproductive method of manufacture, the buildings could be decorated economically and speedily.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleFragment of a pilaster, with two winged griffins (named collection)
Materials and techniques
Cast terracotta
Brief description
Fragment from a pilaster, terracotta, with two winged griffins, from Suffolk Place, Southwark, the house of Charles Brandon, England (London), 1518-1522
Physical description
Relief in pink terracotta. A fragment of the upper part of a pilaster, the top concave. Two winged griffins back to back on either side of a base with conventional foliage. There is a moulded border which is considerably chipped.
Dimensions
  • Height: 37cm
  • Width: 27.5cm
  • Depth: 8.5cm
4 estim max Dimensions checked: Measured; 26/07/2000 by KB
Gallery label
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)
Object history
Probably made in London for Suffolk Place, Southwark, the house of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk (died in 1545). Found during excavations in 1937 for a new building for Messrs Mosers on the site of Suffolk, the place of Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk, brother-in-law to Henry VIII. Given to the Museum by Messrs Mosers Ltd, Iron Steel & Hardware Merchants, Borough High Street, Southwark, London in 1938, together with cat. nos. 33 to 43.
Subject depicted
Association
Summary
Object Type
This terracotta relief, which probably formed part of a pilaster (a rectangular column projecting slightly from a wall), was produced as 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 by Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk, between 1518 and 1522. 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 which was dried and fired to create terracotta (literally 'cooked earth'), a material suitable for use as external decoration. The scale of building projects such as Suffolk Place was vast and by using a cheap raw material and a reproductive method of manufacture, the buildings could be decorated economically and speedily.
Bibliographic references
  • 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. 28. cat. no. 36
  • Review [1911-1938], Victoria & Albert Museum. Review of the Principal Acquisitions during the Year, London, 1938
  • Mosers, Mosers of the Borough, (trade pamphlet), London, [n.d.], [1938], fig B on p. 8
  • Green, C.M., Finds from the Site of Suffolk Place, Southwark, (project submitted for the Museums Diploma Study Course, Dept of Museum Studies, University of Leicester), October 1986, fig. 14
  • Lindley, P, review of Homand, M, 'The Early Tudor Country House: Architecture and Politics 1490-1550' Oxford Art Journal. XI/I, 1988, p. 66 (fig. 1.)
  • Morris, Richard K, 'Architectural Terracotta Decoration in Tudor England' in Lindley, Paul, Frangenberg, Thomas (ed.) Secular Sculpture 1300-1550 Stamford, 2000, pp.179-209.
  • 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
Collection
Accession number
A.29-1938

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Record createdMarch 27, 2003
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