The Fayrey Pall
Funeral Pall
1470-1530 (made)
1470-1530 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Red velvet funeral pall. The horizontal plane is made of cut and uncut velvet with gold ground; the sides are embroidered with applique figures.
The central panel of cloth of gold, with woven pattern of a wavy stem with conventional flowers and leaves, in red velvet pile of two heights, with gold loops. The four side-panels are of violet velvet, embroidered. In the centre of each of the four panels is the figure of St. John the Baptist preaching. On the two short side-panels his auditors are two kneeling figures, identified by inscribed scrolls as iohn ffayrey and mary ffayrey; two bales bear a merchant's mark and initials 'I.F.' On the two long side panels the audience consists of two groups, one of fourteen men and the other of fourteen women, all standing; the foremost figures of each group are identified by inscribed scrolls as henry ffayrey and agnes ffayrey. The four shields bear the arms of the Merchants of the Staple (with lion), Fayrey (with eagles), the Mercers' Company (with bust), and Butler (with crosses). Fringes of red, yellow and violet silk.
The central panel of cloth of gold, with woven pattern of a wavy stem with conventional flowers and leaves, in red velvet pile of two heights, with gold loops. The four side-panels are of violet velvet, embroidered. In the centre of each of the four panels is the figure of St. John the Baptist preaching. On the two short side-panels his auditors are two kneeling figures, identified by inscribed scrolls as iohn ffayrey and mary ffayrey; two bales bear a merchant's mark and initials 'I.F.' On the two long side panels the audience consists of two groups, one of fourteen men and the other of fourteen women, all standing; the foremost figures of each group are identified by inscribed scrolls as henry ffayrey and agnes ffayrey. The four shields bear the arms of the Merchants of the Staple (with lion), Fayrey (with eagles), the Mercers' Company (with bust), and Butler (with crosses). Fringes of red, yellow and violet silk.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Title | The Fayrey Pall (popular title) |
| Materials and techniques | cut and uncut silk velvet, embroidered with silk and metallic threads, edged with metallic fringe |
| Brief description | The Fayrey Pall; velvet with applied embroidery; England, 1470-1530. |
| Physical description | Red velvet funeral pall. The horizontal plane is made of cut and uncut velvet with gold ground; the sides are embroidered with applique figures. The central panel of cloth of gold, with woven pattern of a wavy stem with conventional flowers and leaves, in red velvet pile of two heights, with gold loops. The four side-panels are of violet velvet, embroidered. In the centre of each of the four panels is the figure of St. John the Baptist preaching. On the two short side-panels his auditors are two kneeling figures, identified by inscribed scrolls as iohn ffayrey and mary ffayrey; two bales bear a merchant's mark and initials 'I.F.' On the two long side panels the audience consists of two groups, one of fourteen men and the other of fourteen women, all standing; the foremost figures of each group are identified by inscribed scrolls as henry ffayrey and agnes ffayrey. The four shields bear the arms of the Merchants of the Staple (with lion), Fayrey (with eagles), the Mercers' Company (with bust), and Butler (with crosses). Fringes of red, yellow and violet silk. |
| Dimensions |
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| Production type | Unique |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'iohn ffayrey'
'mary ffayrey'
'henry ffayrey'
'agnes ffayrey' |
| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Lent by Rector and Churchwardens of the Priory Church of St. Peter, Dunstable |
| Object history | Henry Fayrey died in 1516; his funerary brasses, formerly in Dunstable church, are in the V&A Metalwork collection (museum numbers M.126-1922, M.127-1922, M.2667-1931, M.33-1932). It is presumed that he, or a member of his family, gave this pall to the Fraternity of St. John the Baptist, a religious and charitable group which was founded at Dunstable in 1442 and dissolved in 1547. The unidentified figures on the pall probably represent members of the fraternity. The register of the fraternity is at Luton Museum. The Fayrey Pall was on long-term loan to the V&A from 1950-1960. It was then returned to Dunstable for display in the Priory Church of St. Peter until 1976, when it was loaned back to the V&A following concerns raised by the parish council over the environment inside the church. It has been on long-term loan to the V&A ever since. This object was borrowed by the V&A for the 1963 exhibition of Opus Anglicanum, English medieval embroidery. |
| Production | pall made up in England, but the materials (including the velvet) were probably imported from Italy |
| Subjects depicted | |
| Associations | |
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| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | LOAN:ST.PETER.2 |
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| Record created | April 12, 2006 |
| Record URL |
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