European Decorative Arts and Sculpture Tomb Effigy of a Recumbent Knight from the Abbey of Sainte-Marie, La Genevraye, Lower Normandy Made in Normandy, France, Europe1230-40 Artist/maker unknown, French Limestone * Gallery 215, European Art 1100-1500, second floor 1945-25-72 Purchased with Museum funds from the George Grey Barnard Collection, 1945 |
LabelThis tomb effigy may represent a member of the noble du Merle family. A seventeenth-century description of the sculpture identified the knight as François du Merle, who founded the abbey of Sainte-Marie in La Genevraye, France, around 1160. The birds carved on the shield are heraldic figures known as martlets (or merle in French), perhaps a punning reference to the family name. However, the coat of arms used by the du Merle family in later centuries does not include birds and so the connection remains tentative. The description mentioned above also states that the sculpture was placed on a two-foot-high base decorated with coats of arms that likely signaled the distinguished ancestry of the deceased.Social Tags [?]13th century [x] audio file [x] audio stop [x] birds [x] european art 1100-1500 [x] european decorative arts and sculpture [x] french [x] funerary [x] knight [x] medieval period [x] normandy [x] stone [x] teacher resources [x] tomb [x] [Add Your Own Tags]* Works in the collection are moved off view for many different reasons. Although gallery locations on the website are updated regularly, there is no guarantee that this object will be on display on the day of your visit. |
