Object in Focus: The Franks Casket - Softcover

Webster, Leslie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 071412818X ISBN 13: 9780714128184

Publisher: British Museum Press, 2012

Synopsis

This concise, beautifully illustrated guide explores the enigmatic Franks Casket, carved from whalebone in 8th century northern England, and decorated with scenes from tales both pagan and Christian, as well as runic inscriptions. Leslie Webster helps the general reader to make sense of its iconography and meaning, the processes of its manufacture, and its somewhat confused history - it was rediscovered in modern times in France, whilst one panel remains in Florence.

About this title

About the Author

Leslie Webster is Keeper Emerita of the British Museum's Department of Britain, Europe and Prehistory, and former Senior Curator of the Early Medieval Collections; she is also currently Visiting Professor at the Institute of Archaeology, UCL. She lectures and publishes widely on Anglo-Saxon art and archaeology, and has curated major exhibitions on Anglo-Saxon and Insular themes. Her most recent book is Anglo-Saxon Art: a New History (British Museum 2016).

From the Back Cover

The whalebone box known as the Franks Casket has intrigued and puzzled viewers since its rediscovery in the nineteenth century. Made in northern England in the eighth century AD, the sides and lids of the rectangular casket carry some of the richest and most intricate carvings known from Anglo-Saxon times. The lively scenes depicted are drawn from a variety of sources, including Germanic and Roman legends and Jewish and Christian stories. They are accompanied by texts in both Old English and Latin, written in both the runic and Roman alphabets. At some point in its mysterious history the casket was dismantled. One of the end panels is in the Bargello in Florence; the rest of the box is in the British Museum, with the missing piece represented by a cast. This book explores the meaning, function and history of this extraordinary icon of Anglo-Saxon culture, describing and explaining the significance of the stories depicted in its magnificent carvings.

Edition details

• Publisher: British Museum Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 071412818X
• ISBN 13: 9780714128184
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 55