Purbeck marble memorial slab incised with a male figure praying, ca. 1320, London

A broken slab, originally oblong, incised with the figure of a man in civilian dress, his hands clasped in prayer. Two letters are inscribed in the top right corner. The slab has been cut down at the top and bottom so that the top of the head and feet of the figure are missing. The edge of the right arm has been damaged, and most of the left arm and side of the body are missing where a large part of the stone has broken off. Considerable surface damage has occurred, including a large chip from the bottom edge. There is a deep crack through the right arm.

Given by the Governors of the Bank of England

The slab was excavated during the reconstruction of the Bank of England in 1934 and is believed to have come from the Church of St Christopher-le-Stocks, which originally stood on the site but which was demolished in 1780 (Bell,1920, pp.182-83, 276 (note) 310 and 336).

This slab would have been placed in the floor of the church, forming a memorial to the deceased, whose effigy, together with the inscription, is incised on it. It has been suggested that these leters may be the end of a surname, consisting of the Lombardic capitals A.M. (Ant.J.1934). However, the first letter is not clear and does not appear to be an A of the type usually found in the inscriptions produced in the London workshop.

The costume that the figure is wearing consists of a loose supertunic with hood over a fitted undergarment., fastened along the forearm by a row of small buttons. This is identical to that found on a continental incised slab of an ecclesiastic in civil dress (ca. 1300) in the Musee d'Histoire et d'Archeologie , Tournai, Belgium (Greenhill 1976, II pl.24a, where it is dated ca.1290). The Tournai slab displays a full hairstyle similar to that on this figure; as the top of the head is missing from the London slab it is possible that it too represents an ecclesiastical figure in civil dress.

The costume itself is no aid in dating the object, as there was hardly any change in male dress from the end of the thirteenth century to ca.1350 (Greenhill 1976, p.204). However, the style is close to that of brasses of the London workshops, of the first quarter of the century. The facial features and hairstyle are virtually identical to those on the brass commemorating Sir William de Setvans (d.1322) in the Church of St Mary , Chartham , Kent. (London 1987, cat no. 234) This similarity is not surprising as it was the London workshops of Purbeck marblers who expanded their repertoire at the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth centuries to exploit the commercial possibilities of monumental brass production (London 1987 p.171; Greenhill 1076 Vol.I pp.15, 18-19). It has further been suggested that the production of brasses was controlled by marblers throughout the fourteenth century as nearly all brasses made in London during the period were set in Purbeck marble slabs (Coales 1987, pp.170,166).

The workshop established by Adam de Corfe, the principal dealer in Purbeck marble in London and Westminster, in about 1300 to1310 was most likely responsible for producing the Setvans brass ( London 1987, p.172) It is therefore possible that the incised slab was produced by this or a similar workshop, probably as a cheaper alternative to a monumental brass memorial (Greenhill 1976, I, p.16). The carving technique is nicely illustrated in two French manuscripts of the early fourteenth century (British library Add.MS.10292 fol.55b and MS.Royal 14Eiii, fol.66; Greenhill 1976, I, p.II and pl.I) which show sculptors working with mallet and chisel on effigies and inscriptions.

The slab was excavated during the reconstruction of the Bank of England in 1934 and is believed to have come from the Church of St Christopher-le-Stocks, which originally stood on the site but which was demolished in 1780. This slab would have been placed in the floor of the church, forming a memorial to the deceased, whose effigy, together with the inscription, is incised on it. It is possible that incised slabs like this were produced as a cheaper alternative to a monumental brass memorial.

A.53-1935