Late medieval boss stone

AHorsa · 24th November 2018, 11:13 AM

Hi There,

I´d like to get your oppinions on this boss stone. Its diameter is 15-16cm (~6 inch) and comes from England. I assume it is 15th or 14th century. What do you think?

Cheerio
Andreas

Helleri · 15th December 2018, 03:33 AM

I think that bit at the bottom is meant to be a comically enlarged penis (disguised as part of the acanthus work). The character does seems to have a jovial or mischievous expression. I wonder if this would qualify as a small grotesque? Perhaps a wall plaque?

As for estimated a time and place of creation. Best bet would probably be to go by the clothing of the figure. He's wearing what appears to be a loose garment. Perhaps a one piece tunic type shirt. With a round neck hole that has no split. But a series of buttons running up the forearm.

That's fairly distinctive. Whoever carved it took the time to put in those details. Spend enough time browsing medieval European clothing collections on pintrest and you might find a time and place for which such a men's garment shows prevalence.

24th November 2018, 11:13 AM	#1
AHorsa Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Rhineland Posts: 375	Late medieval boss stone Hi There, I´d like to get your oppinions on this boss stone. Its diameter is 15-16cm (~6 inch) and comes from England. I assume it is 15th or 14th century. What do you think? Cheerio Andreas Attached Images

15th December 2018, 03:33 AM	#2
Helleri Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Chino, CA. Posts: 219	I think that bit at the bottom is meant to be a comically enlarged penis (disguised as part of the acanthus work). The character does seems to have a jovial or mischievous expression. I wonder if this would qualify as a small grotesque? Perhaps a wall plaque? As for estimated a time and place of creation. Best bet would probably be to go by the clothing of the figure. He's wearing what appears to be a loose garment. Perhaps a one piece tunic type shirt. With a round neck hole that has no split. But a series of buttons running up the forearm. That's fairly distinctive. Whoever carved it took the time to put in those details. Spend enough time browsing medieval European clothing collections on pintrest and you might find a time and place for which such a men's garment shows prevalence. Last edited by Helleri; 15th December 2018 at 03:50 AM.