Architectural ceiling boss with four faces, probably from the Church of St. Andrew at Cullompton / Artist Unknown, England
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1968/2.47
- Title
- Architectural ceiling boss with four faces, probably from the Church of St. Andrew at Cullompton
- Artist
- Artist Unknown, England
- Artist Nationality
- English
- Medium and Support
- wood with polychrome
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1430
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- United Kingdom (nation)
- England (country)
- Devon (county)
- Cullompton (inhabited place)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- United Kingdom (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- England (country)
- Creation Place 4
- Devon (county)
- Creation Place 5
- Cullompton (inhabited place)
- Credit Line
- Museum Purchase
- Style/Group/Movement
- Gothic
- Dimensions
- 19.3 cm x 19.3 cm x 3.5 cm (7 5/8 in. x 7 5/8 in. x 1 3/8 in.)
- Century
- 15th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Sculpture
- Primary Object Type
- carving
- Secondary Object Classification
- Decorative Arts
- Secondary Object Type
- architectural element
- Physical Description
- This ceiling boss features four faces with traces of paint that are arranged in a radial pattern with the crowns of their heads converging on a single, central point. Two of the faces are female, identifiable by the wimples worn on their heads, while the other two, wearing small pointed caps and sporting beards, are male. The symmetrical regularity of the piece is counterbalanced by subtle asymmetries introduced by differences in detail and the sequence of facial types.
- Subject Matter
- This architectural boss decorated with four faces was originally placed in the crown of a ceiling vault at the point where the ribs of the vault met. The arrangement of the four faces would have reinforced the expansive radial pattern formed by the ribs while the boss itself would have simultaneously emphasized the center of the vault.
- Primary Keywords
- bosses
- carvings
- cullompton (inhabited place)
- faces
- vaults (structural elements)
- wood (sculpture by material)
- Secondary Keywords
- architectural elements
- biological components
- components
- components and systems
- components by general context
- components by specific context
- devon (county)
- enclosing structural elements
- england (country)
- europe (continent)
- geographic and political locations
- heads
- objects we use
- sculpture
- sculpture by material
- sculpture by technique
- structural elements
- structural elements and structural element components
- the human body
- united kingdom (nation)
- upper body
- vaults and vault components
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 1009 x 873
- File Size
- 101 KB
- Record
- 1968/2.47
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1968-sl-2.47/1968_2.47.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1968-SL-2.47:1968_2.47.JPG
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- Full citation
-
"Architectural ceiling boss with four faces, probably from the Church of St. Andrew at Cullompton; Artist Unknown, England." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1968-sl-2.47/1968_2.47.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed May 04, 2024.