Object of Devotion: Medieval English Alabaster Sculpture - Softcover

Williamson, Paul

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0883971569 ISBN 13: 9780883971567

Publisher: Art Services International, 2010

Synopsis

This catalogue, with essays by several leading scholars, accompanies an US touring exhibition of medieval English alabaster sculpture from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. During the late Middle Ages, English craftsmen, mainly based in the Midlands, carved finely decorated images from alabaster – a fine-grained form of gypsum – for display in churches, homes and private chapels. This assemblage of English alabaster sculpture offers an unrivalled glimpse into the spiritual lives, hopes, fears and religious aspirations of both aristocratic and non-aristocratic society during the Middle Ages. Alabasters from England were sold across the Continent, and the catalogue sheds light on issues of spirituality, devotion and culture beyond the English Channel.

“... beautifully illustrated ... deserves to become a popular reference book on this genre of Medieval art.” – WALL STREET JOURNAL

Winner of an American Graphic Design Award of Excellence from Graphic Design USA (2011)

Winner of Second Place prize, small-medium non-profit publisher illustrated text category, Washington Book Publishers Association Design and Effectiveness Awards (2011)

About this title

About the Author

PAUL WILLIAMSON, is Guest Curator of the exhibition and head Curator of the Department of Sculpture at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

FERGUS CANNAN, formerly of the Victoria and Albert Museum and now an independent scholar, is Associate Curator of the exhibition.

EAMON DUFFY is a professor, at Magdalene College, Cambridge.

STEPHEN PERKINSON is a professor at Bowdoin College.

MARK JONES is Director of the Victoria and Albert Museum.

From the Back Cover

Object of Devotion explores the production, meaning, and context of the V&A's superb collection of medieval English alabaster sculpture.\n\nDuring the later Middle Ages, England had a thriving art industry that produced religious alabaster sculptures in large numbers and exported them to virtually every country in Europe. Despite the success and scale of this industry, however, English alabasters have remained a neglected art form. Alabaster is a remarkable and attractive material for a sculptor to work with. It is a fine-grained, rare form of gypsum, superficially resembling marble, but with a softer, deeper translucent glow and a creamy, yellow-ochre finish. Because the material was soft and easy to carve, and was found in large quantities beneath the soil of the English Midlands, medieval English sculptors worked this mineral resource extensively from the late fourteenth century until the Reformation in the 1530s, creating lively, spirited reliefs for altarpieces and devotional figures. \n\nObject of Devotion examines the creation and use of medieval alabaster sculpture in England and throughout Europe and its lasting influence on the art historical canon. This book will appeal to museum audiences, art lovers, scholars, and researchers interested in medieval art and culture.

Edition details

• Publisher: Art Services International
• Publication date: 2010
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0883971569
• ISBN 13: 9780883971567
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 224