A Tile Pavement from the Queen's Chamber,Clarendon Palace,Dated 1250-2 |
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Authors: | Elizabeth S Eames |
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Institution: | 1. n.hatot@live.fr |
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Abstract: | This article undertakes an object-focused study of a single work of art of great material and visual complexity: the Wallace Collection pax. This object stimulates an important discussion on how the making, materials and form of a work of art are fundamental to unravelling the object’s function and meaning for a contemporary audience. In placing at the core of the object a rare example of a late medieval amber Vera icon, the Wallace Collection pax also opens up a wider discussion on the nature and popularity of amber as a material of artistic expression in the later Middle Ages. In basing this article on the physical and material history of the work of art, I hope to illustrate the importance of going back to first principles when undertaking object-based research, and I intend to highlight the complex interaction between material and form in late medieval art. |
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Keywords: | amber Baltic Bruges carving Christ mass pax |
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