Sunday 19 September 2021

Plas Newydd Part II

 


There were some carvings which absolutely fascinated me and I am going to endeavour to do some research on them.  Above and the next two photos below.  The squareness of the figure, the bare breasts, long hair . . . what year were these carved, and who is it meant to represent?  I'm not going to find these in my Medieval Bestiary!

Update: just been doing some research and it is possible that this is St Christina who, amongst many of her terrible tortures, had her breasts cut off. The carving above shows her with a breast in her hand, and the one below shows her possibly holding a knife and both breasts still in place ...





More fragments of late Medieval glass, this time with faces.



Above and the two below: more very strange carvings.  Another bare-breasted figure draped in what looks like a Toga!, with a banner? above her head.  Below - a jester-type figure - looking at the serrated edge to the jerkin and a Beastie below him.



I don't know if the head-dresses are significant in this and the "pair" to this carving (above) and again, another Beastie, this one "gurning"!


More colourful fragments of glass built into windows.


Some needlework which one of the two Ladies made.



They were obviously cat-lovers, but not sure if the stuffed cat at the bottom was one of theirs . . .




16 comments:

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    1. I agree Tom - it's made my brain work a bit harder since getting back. I'm determined to get to the bottom of the square and bare Saints!

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  2. How interesting! The carved figures look rather pagan. I really like the medieval stained glass heads montage. Celie

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    1. Hello Celie. I agree with you there. I am pretty sure it is a Saint as in each of the carvings, there is what seems to be a wooden halo over her long haired head. That's as far as I've got though!

      The stained glass montage of the heads was lovely.

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  3. Ahh, not too crazy about having a stuffed cat, though I have heard of people stuffing their beloved pet.

    I have seen carvings like those two bare breasted figures before, but not quite sure where. Hope you find out where they are from and what they stand for.

    God bless.

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    1. Me neither Jackie. I once went on a working weekend interview at a posh manor house in Dorset. They had skins of something tanned, and on display over the back of the sofa. Imagine my horror when I realized they were their deceased German Shepherd dogs!

      If you remember where you saw the bare breasted figures, shout out!

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  4. oh my word! That cat is so well done! Still...pet taxidermy creeps me out. We have Bob the buffalo, but he died before we were born, so we didn't know him personally.

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    1. It did look fairly authentic Debby, but I couldn't have it done to one of our dear cats.

      Smiling at the thought of Bob the Buffalo - is it just his head or something, on the wall?

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  5. Not a fan of taxidermy, although the cat looks very well done. My cousin has quite the menagerie which freaks me out when I visit. Looks as if you've got an identification project on your hand with those odd carvings.

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    1. I'm not too bothered by stuffed animals RP, but domestic pets is a bit creepy. There's a pony head (beautifully preserved) in Aberystwyth Museum - a Welshie who won everything when he was alive, and Rob in Hay-on-Wye used to have the preserved head and shoulders of a huge Clydesdale horse, but although he'd bought it on Ebay, it turned out to have been stolen so he had to return it to the owner.

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  6. What strange creatures, rather frightening to live with, the two ladies must have had vivid imaginations.

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    1. You'd think so wouldn't you, yet they apparently hardly paid them any attention - it was the acquisition and decorating of the house which was important - but friends visiting most important of all.

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  7. Such a great post again and a wonderful place to visit. Would love to know more if you get chance to research some of the carvings which are extraordinary. The stained glass fragments are beautiful! :)

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    1. I knew you would enjoy this RR. I will do a post IF I manage to track down some of the carvings that interest me most. I've ordered several small books on the subject now.

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  8. Can imagine that you hardly knew where to look in that house...so many things to capture your attention. Will be interested if you are able to find out the history of some of those carvings.

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    1. If you look at my drum roll of photos taken on the day, you can see I got excited as some aren't properly focused and others haven't been properly framed!

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