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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
British Galleries, Room 58

Panel

1540 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

During the Tudor period heraldic motifs and mottoes were often incorporated into the interior and exterior decoration of a building. Craftsmen exploited the motifs for their intrinsic decorative qualities, though it was the information that they conveyed about the status and wealth of the owner that was most important. This panel would have originally formed part of a richly painted and gilded scheme of carved wall decoration.

The panel is one of a set of four which are said to have come from Windsor Castle. Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) encouraged the use of heraldry in the decoration of his residences, as well as in the dress of his subjects and servants. At Hampton Court Palace the principal decorative motifs were the coats of arms and badges of the King and Queen. Set in windows, moulded on ceilings, embroidered on hangings and upholstery and carved in stone above gate and doorways, they had to be changed each time Henry remarried.

During Henry VIII's reign legislation was passed relating to the use of armorial devices. To ensure that they used the correct forms, carvers and painters owned and consulted pattern books. Unfortunately, none of these books survives. However, there are surviving royal records of arms and heraldic beasts, for example, those by Sir Thomas Wriothesley (died 1534), Henry VIII's Garter King of Arms. These records would have been used to give advice to painters involved in the decoration of the royal palaces.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Oak, carved, gilded and painted
Brief description
English 1540 painted and carved oak
Physical description
Panel of carved oak with traces of colour and gilding. In the centre is a shield carved with the date. Around are four pomegranates, two above and two below, amid interlacing stalks and leaves.
Dimensions
  • Height: 63.3cm (maximum)
  • Width: 30.5cm
  • Depth: 1cm (maximum, approx)
Marks and inscriptions
'1540' (Probable date of production)
Gallery label
“Four panels. Painted and gilded oak, carved with pomegranates and with the devices of Edward, Prince of Wales, English; dated 1540, W73-76-1911”
Object history
Said to have come from Windsor Castle.

Purchased from Mr G R Harding of St James's Square along with W.73, 74 and 75-1911
Subjects depicted
Association
Summary
During the Tudor period heraldic motifs and mottoes were often incorporated into the interior and exterior decoration of a building. Craftsmen exploited the motifs for their intrinsic decorative qualities, though it was the information that they conveyed about the status and wealth of the owner that was most important. This panel would have originally formed part of a richly painted and gilded scheme of carved wall decoration.

The panel is one of a set of four which are said to have come from Windsor Castle. Henry VIII (reigned 1509-1547) encouraged the use of heraldry in the decoration of his residences, as well as in the dress of his subjects and servants. At Hampton Court Palace the principal decorative motifs were the coats of arms and badges of the King and Queen. Set in windows, moulded on ceilings, embroidered on hangings and upholstery and carved in stone above gate and doorways, they had to be changed each time Henry remarried.

During Henry VIII's reign legislation was passed relating to the use of armorial devices. To ensure that they used the correct forms, carvers and painters owned and consulted pattern books. Unfortunately, none of these books survives. However, there are surviving royal records of arms and heraldic beasts, for example, those by Sir Thomas Wriothesley (died 1534), Henry VIII's Garter King of Arms. These records would have been used to give advice to painters involved in the decoration of the royal palaces.
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Clifford Smith, H., Catalogue of English furniture & woodwork. Vol. I, Gothic and early Tudor, (Percy Lund, Humphries & Co., London, 1929)
Collection
Accession number
W.76-1911

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
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