Tile panel, Samson and the Lion, Chertsey Abbey, 13th century
Record status
Individual type · partial
Period
late 13th century
Large fragment of a tile roundel of red earthenware inlaid with white clay. The design depicts a man in chain mail fighting with a lion. The fragment has been restored to form a complete roundel. In the middle is a group of a man in chain mail fighting with a lion, within a circular medallion surrounded by a border of grotesque monsters, some of which have human heads.
The angles of the panel are filled in with foliage on symmetrically scrolled stems. Originally from Chertsey Abbey in Surrey. Historical significance: This tile roundel is from a series depicting scenes of combat, some of which illustrate the romance of Richard Coeur de Lion.
Evidence at a glance
- Linked sources
- 1
- Photograph views
- 1
- Catalogue references
- 0
Counts describe this entry’s documentation, not authenticity, rarity or completeness. Photographs may show one specimen; check each caption and licence.
Historical context
Roundels from this series normally occur fired in four separate sections which were then laid as part of a complex mosaic arrangement. However, this roundel has been made in one section, and is comparable to a fragment in the BM (Cat no. 9085 in Eames, see References). Such roundels appear to have been used in a simplified mosaic arrangement with border tiles of the type as in 444A to D-1905.
Physical characteristics
- Material
- Red earthenware inlaid with white clay. Yellow lead glaze.
- Dimensions
- Length: 14 3/4 in; Width: 14 3/4 in
Technical characteristics
- Place recorded
- Chertsey
Identification
- Source note
- Transcribed from the Victoria and Albert Museum, London collection record for this single object (sentences kept verbatim apart from removed sale or rarity wording); how far it represents a wider collectible type has not been independently verified.
- Candidate id
- vam-O7309
- Museum object name
- Tile panel
- Holding institution
- Victoria and Albert Museum, London
- Museum object number
- 444-1905
- Museum system number
- O7309
Catalogue references
No catalogue numbers recorded. Numbers are only published once transcribed from a verified edition of a standard catalogue — they are never inferred.
Research required
- Research required: confirm the wider type, maker and dating against a specialist reference; this entry documents one recorded example.