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Lot 101

A medieval armorial encaustic floor tile, 14th century

29 September 2020, 10:30 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £1,147.50 inc. premium

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A medieval armorial encaustic floor tile, 14th century

Inlaid in cream clay with the coat of arms of England, comprising three lions passant guardant, in reverse, within a shield surmounted and flanked by fleurs-de-lis, the design set diagonally, 13.5cm square

Footnotes

Provenance
Woodspring Priory, Somerset, September 1885 excavations
Private Collection, purchased April 1933

The lions in this armorial should be facing to dexter, but the block-cutter forgot to allow for their reversal when the clay was impressed. A tile fragment from Woodspring Priory with identical decoration is in Weston Museum, Weston-super-Mare. It is interesting to note that a similar tile bearing the arms of England with the same mistake from Somerset is in the Victoria and Albert Museum (accession no. 1136-1892), originally from the Mayor's Chapel, St Mark's Church, Bristol. Another from Wenlock Priory in Shropshire is in the British Museum (accession no. 1887,0307.11243).

Additional information

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