Bench End
1480-1520 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Bench end with relief decoration of archways and hounds
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Bench end, English, 1480-1520, from a church in Balderton, Nottinghamshire |
| Physical description | Bench end with relief decoration of archways and hounds |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Mr A. D. Passmore |
| Bibliographic reference | Charles Tracy, English Medieval Furniture and Woodwork (London, 1988), cat. no. 216.
'FRONT PORTION OF A BENCH-END, one of three parts, (BENCH-END, FRONT PORTION OF A BENCH-END and FRAGMENT or ANOTHER BENCH-END, Mus. Nos. W.8-1958, W.9-1958, W.10-1958).(PLS.73 a, b & c).
Given by Mr A.D. Passmore Oak. Late 15th or early 16th century Front portion of a bench-end (91.3 x 34.3 cm)
Mus. Nos. W.9-1958
These fragments were stated by the donor to have come from Balderton,Notts. They are identical in type and general design with the bench-ends at St Giles’ Church (FIG.46). The Balderton bench-ends are either surmounted by affronted hounds or hares.
The bench-ends at the nearby church of Holme have similar simple hollow mouldings but are completely undecorated except for foliage poppy-heads. They do, however, feature affronted animals and human figures on the mouldings on either side of the poppy-heads. These are reminiscent of the animals at Balderton, although they are not down-wards lacing. Holme church was enlarged and refurnished by John Barton in about 1485 (he died in 1491). The Balderton and Holme furniture may well be by the same workshop, the former probably being the later of the two. The juxtaposition of the two is intriguing. The Holme bench-ends lack the rather mechanical elaboration of the sunk tracery at Balderton but the sculpture itself is far more varied. The monotonous repetition of the same motifs at Balderton accords with the stereotyped presentation of the bench-end decoration. This perhaps suggests that the patron at Holme took a greater personal interest in his commission and was not primarily concerned to get the work done in a hurry.' |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | W.9-1958 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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