Corner Post
1500-1550 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Pair of carved oak corner posts
Object details
| Category | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Carved oak |
| Brief description | Pair of corner posts, English, 1500-1550 |
| Physical description | Pair of carved oak corner posts |
| Dimensions |
|
| Object history | Corner post/coat of arms, purchased from Messrs C J Charles of Brook St, London Notes from R.P. AM 536/09, AM 2804/09 4/2/09 received for inspection two carved oak Gothic columns "generally damaged & portions missing". 11/2/09 Lehfeldt Minute reports that the oak columns are "exceedingly interesting. They show a mixture of Gothic and Renaissance ornament and date probably from the first half of the 16th century". He recommends that the two columns be bought. 11/2/09 Van de Put report on the coat of arms refers to these shields on the corner posts of an old timber house (now gone) in St Edmondsbury. 12/2/09 letter Charles to V & A reports that the former owner of the columns states that they were taken from Llandaff Cathedral during the restoration of that cathedral. |
| Bibliographic reference | Charles Tracy, English Medieval Furniture and Woodwork (London, 1988), cat. no. 241.
'CORNER-POSTS, one of two (Mus. Nos W.6-1909 & W.7-1909). One of the posts has a projecting canopy in the form of two arches outlined by interlacing foliage; beneath the canopy are two shields, one on each face, bearing the arms of Heigham and Cotton, and Heigham and Calthorp; the rest of the surface below the shields is covered with conventional scrolling foliage. The other post has, below the projecting canopy, the arms of Heigham and Calthorp and Poley, and the arms of Heigham alone; the rest of the surface is decorated with tracery (PL.78a & b).
From a house, now destroyed, in Bury St. Edmund’s Second quarter of 16th century
Oak
157 x 3.80 cm
Mus. No. W.6 -1909
The arms on the first post are those of Catherine Cotton, wife of Thomas Heigham, of Heigham, Cambs., d. 1492; and (2) of Elizabeth Calthorp, d.1542, first wife of Thomas Heigham, of Bury St Edmund’s, their grandson. Those on the other post are (1) of Thomas Heigham, of Bury St Edmund’s.combined with those of his two wives, Calthorp and Poley; and (2) of Thomas Heigham, of Bury St Edmund’s, alone. The arms date from the period of the marriage of Thomas Heigham, of Bury St Edmund’s, with a lady of the family of Poley, on the death of his first wife, Elizabeth Calthorp, in 1542.The date of the Poley alliance is unknown. See Hervey 1871, 230 [reference omitted]. In 1871 these posts were in the possession of C. W. Heigham, of Wetherclen. See also J.S. Corder, ‘Notes on Bury Corner Posts’, S.I.A., 1918, p.8 & Pl.8.
It has been pointed out that from these posts it is possible to estimate the approximate height of the rooms for which they were made (H. Cescinsky and E.R. Gribble, Early English Furniture and Woodwork, 2 vols, London, 1922, I, p.49-50). Allowing for a brick plinth of about 61cm with the deduction of about 15cm for a step from ground to floor level, the height of the room from the floor to the underside of the joists must have been less that 21m. The decoration of these posts well exemplifies the unselfconscious coexistence at this time of the Gothic and Renaissance styles'. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.6-1909 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | September 25, 2008 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSONIIIF Manifest
