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Head of a man with laurel wreath
mid to late 15th century
Stone
Height: 20.5 cm
(Stock no 8614)
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The small limestone head is rare, as the majority of medieval works of this period would be Christian in subject matter. In this example we have a head portrayed as a classical ‘pagan’ subject. This is not unusual in the earlier medieval period – the Romanesque, but is certainly rare during the fifteenth century. The surface would originally have been painted – all stone medieval sculpture was polychromed – no traces remain but the surface has not been over –cleaned or abraded. The quality of the carving is very fine and robust: the hair is deeply chiselled and the features of the face well defined.
